Difference between pages "User:JonBuck/After Hours" and "Paradise (Setting)"

Revision as of 13:54, 31 October 2019

Paradise story universe

Author: Jon Buck

A direct link To the original story.

Stories in Chronological Order

Authors may add links to their stories as they happen in chronological order in story time. For a complete listing of all Paradise stories, since this list may be updated sporadically, see the Paradise Category.

2000

On the Outside, Looking... (Through 2010) (Erastus)

2001

Ranty Raccoon (Digitalpotato)
In Perspective Of An Iris Budding (Hawl)

2002

Made Alone (MatthiasRat)
Bathing Alone (MatthiasRat)
Not Quite Alone (MatthiasRat)
Suspected Alone (MatthiasRat)
Revealing Alone (MatthiasRat)
Outsider (extends through 2003) (JonBuck)

2003

2004

Victory Starts Here [recovered from google cache] (Enphilistor)

2005

Holes in the Veil (Jetfire)
RPG.net Capsule Review: Changed: The Unveiling (Robotech_Master)
Lifting The Veil (Jetfire)
Poking the Veil (Jetfire)
Unforseen Changes (Chessrook44)
Unforseen Reactions (Chessrook44)
Unforseen Gifts (Chessrook44)
Stages (Through October 2006) (Eirik)
Perspectives On Christmas In Paradise (Extends into 2006)(Hawl)

2006

The Perspective Of The Sexiest of All Tiger Girls (HawlSera)
Perspective Of Rats And Former Men (HawlSera)
Perspective Into An Albino's Breakdown (HawlSera)
Perspectives On Predator-Prey Relationships (HawlSera)
Perspectives Of A Lollipop (HawlSera)
Film at 2011 (Jetfire)
GM'O'Fur (Jetfire)
Twisting the Veil (Jetfire)
Silver Fox Tracks (Jetfire)
Generations (Jetfire)
A Rolling Stone Gathers No Veil (Jetfire)
Auld Lang Syne (Extends into 2007) (Jetfire)
Reverberations (Eirik)
Bare Hands (Eirik)

2007

Brother's Perspectives (HawlSera)
Father's Perspectives| (HawlSera)
Treatment (Eirik)
It Bears Investigation (Jetfire)
Gaming Furs (Jetfire)
A Kind of Paradise (JonBuck)
Murder in Paradise (Atapari)
Romancing the Changed (Robotech_Master)
Radio No Veil (Jetfire)
Six Furries and a Wedding (Jetfire)
Tall Tales (JonBuck)
Changing Perspectives (Nikon)
Clearing the Air (Jetfire)
Waters So Cold and Deep (Eirik)
Doing Hard Time (Extends into 2008) (Jetfire)
Monkey Business (Boss Hoss)
Coming Home (guess based on posting date) (Nikon)

2008

Live At Five (Jetfire)
Rising Waters (Jetfire)
Gulf Ice (Prelude in 2001) (Jetfire)
The Bear Facts (Jetfire)
Election Fever (Jetfire)
Centers of Power (Eirik)
Open Secrets (JonBuck)
Incarceration (Chessrook44)
Special Care (Jetfire)
NorBAC (begins in June; jumps to September) (Jetfire)
Judge Judy: Deagle vs Anderson (2008 or 2009) (Jetfire)

2009

After Hours (JonBuck)

2010

Changing America (work in progress) (JonBuck)
See Change: March 20, 2010 (Robotech_Master)
Melton's Eleven
- Tiffnapped (Robotech_Master)
- Holding Helena (Robotech_Master)
- The Truth About Cats and Dogs (Robotech_Master)
- The Taming of the Snow Leopardess (Robotech_Master)
Family Tree (JonBuck)

2011

2012

Travelers (JonBuck)

2005 - Two Lovers:Iris and Gabriel (Call this a Teaser Trailer, for now.)

Alternate Future/Non-Canon Stories 2006

Dystopia (HawlSera)

2063

The Future is Paradise (Robotech_Master)

2064

Paradise Forever (Robotech_Master)

Undetermined

Cascade Failure (Fibio)

Basics

The setting is basically indistinguishable from the Real World up until 1987, the year when people first begin to spontaneously transform into furries.
Exactly one person transformed in Year One (i.e., 1987), and the number of furries doubles in late August each year. The initial story in this setting, A Kind of Paradise, is set in Year 21 (i.e., 2007), when there are just over one million furries. The next year (2008) will add a million, for a total of two megafurries, and so forth.
The first furry in 1987 was a vixen, with a tod the next year. Some stereotypes do have a basis in "reality". :)
- The entire world will be furry in 2020.
Every year it's possible that an already-changed person could change again. With increasing rarity, all less than one percent:
- A species change. ("What the..? I'm a wolf now? What am I supposed to do with all these hoof picks?")
- A gender change. ("Where do men put this thing between our legs when we sit down?")
- A combination of both. ("Don't even call me a bitch! Just show me how to put on this stupid bra!")
- The next year there is about a 25% chance that the person will revert to their original gender/first species. If that doesn't happen, it's fixed. If they change back... there's another 25% chance that you'll bounce back again the next year. So there's some potential for characters who spend years alternating between species/gender.
Also distinctive from Winds of Change: No superpowers. Just whatever natural abilities (things like augmented senses, physical strength, etc) come from being half animal.
The Role Reversal Paradox.
- IF the couple has children, pre- or post-Change, no matter what age...
- IF one of the couple has been transgendered...
- THEN it is essentially a sure thing that the partner will TG as well.
- The reason for this is simple. ROB hates paradoxes. If they have children, there must be a father and a mother. And it must be the same two people. It doesn't matter if that person divorced and remarried someone else. Or if they're unmarried. One father, one mother. Otherwise, the kids will logically not have come into existence.
- Conversely, if they are married/going out/living together/etc., the same TG 1% dice roll applies to them as everyone else.

Important. Please do not write stories that are father ahead in the timeline than those I have written.

Note on Politics. As a request, I ask authors not to use major political figures from Real Life. I don't want any political bashing going on here. Characters like Congressman Sandrick are perfectly fine, so feel free to create fictional members of Congress or Members of Parliament. Remember this world is different from ours from 1987 onwards. There are still details I haven't filled in between then and now, and the Butterfly Effect means that there will be some small, some major differences.

Winners of the 2008 Election

President: Karen Hutchinson. (Reverse Pres. Obama and his wife, basically)
VP: Steven Angstrom

The Transgendered

Just a few details.

This is an earlier, generally harmless virus that got into the simulation. ROB dealt with it by the "history editing" as described in the stories.
It's been around a LOT longer than the Furry Virus.
Even though it's probably been around for thousands of years, there are far fewer victims than the Furry Virus as of 2009. I imagine the furry virus co-opted this one for the TGed furs.
As in real life, there are many more male to female victims than the other way around.
Transgendered victims have little or no support system like furries do. They're generally isolated. And before 2009 couldn't see through the RDF.

Physiology

Furries can still interbreed with one another as if they were all still human. Children most often follow their parents' species, however, they can also follow their grandparents species, or something out of left field.
Conversely, humans cannot interbreed with furries, probably due to the RDF.
There are some physical variations, but not the wide "Degrees" that Winds of Change has. The most obvious differences are hair, feet, and hands. Otherwise, most everyone is about as morphic as seen in common furry art.
- Females most often have hair the same color and similar texture as their fur. Though you do still get the occasional blond.
- Males retain their hair less frequently.
Size Limitations. On the suggestion from the Talk page. I'm not going to limit species. However, I will have a minimum/maximum size range:
- 7 feet (or 2.1m), max. About 600 lb (272 kg), max.
- 4 feet (1.2m). I'll leave the small side open.
Species are native to a particular continent. So most people in North America will end up whitetail deer, elk, bears, foxes, wolves, etc. Recent immigrants will more likely end up native species to wherever they came from.
- However, this means that someone from Seattle could still end up a leopard, or a llama, or what-have-you from other continents. I just want to make that clear.
- No mythicals like dragons, griffins, satyrs, vampires, mages, what-have-you. Just furries.
- No birds, reptiles, or other non-mammals.
No Extinct Species. No dinosaurs. Sadly, I can't include them. There are so many species that are just too big.
Note on Transsexuals. This setting is intended as a mix of wish fulfillment and darker, more realistic consequences. That said, all TS folks get their bodies "corrected". Keep in mind that this won't necessarily make life easier for said character. Conflict generates Plot. And since most of the folks who get their gender switched won't be TS, there's still plenty of that around.
Results of major surgeries are translated. Artificial hips, knees and pacemakers still work as needed. Transplant patients will not reject their organs. However, lost limbs will not regenerate and major chronic diseases will not be cured, but may go into a lengthy remission.
One of the major benefits is a major improvement in health and fitness. ROB can't stop the change, but at least he can give the victims a sort of consolation prize. You may not end up in perfect shape, but it'll be close. A flood of positive endorphins to make the victim feel good about their new bodies doesn't hurt, either (optional). Now, what happens to that state of fitness after is entirely up to your characters.

Psychology

At this point I'm inclined to have some mitigating effects on the "victims". It's still going to be very, very hard to deal with. This is a major life disruption. And there are no doubt a lot of secluded furs. But suicides aren't as common as you'd think.
The transgendered furs do have an even rougher time. The double-whammy of species and gender would likely make serious post-change Issues a reality.
- Transgendered furs typically refer to themselves by their initials: BD, DL, etc..
- Some might end up going a little crazy and think they had always been their new gender, especially after the effects of Tall Tales Con.
The more adjusted furs have figured out how to find these troubled souls and bring them back into the real world.

The Reality Distortion Field (Veil)

Humans can't see furries for what they are. They still see whatever the person looked like before, even if that person was the opposite gender.
Some things aren't filtered correctly. Consequently...
- If a TGed man gets pregnant, the filter will change that person's ghost image to female. But she will still appear human to other humans.
- Things like hoof/paw prints, shed fur, shed antlers, clawmarks, animal odors, etc., are not filtered. So if a cougar morph gets in a fight with a normal human and lashes out with his claws, he could cause a hell of a lot of damage.
- Some humans think that there is something up (referred to as "Known" or "Friends"). And some have figured out that the friends who claim to be furry actually are what they claim to be.
The RDF sometimes breaks down a little during large gatherings of furries (like at conventions). "Hey, that's the best costume I've ever seen! Is that a prosthetic muzzle?" Memories afterwards will probably remember some really good costumes, and photos will be perceived as such.
- In more extreme cases it will break down entirely. But it would take repeated exposures, or perhaps having a number of furry friends while remaining humans oneself. Like in Changing Perspectives.
- Transgendered furs may be perceived by humans as their new gender out of the corner of their eye. And there are likely other circumstances where the human RDF image will realign also. Specific circumstances (such as pregnancy) will be the decisive factor.
- As of 2007, TGed TallTales Con attendees have had a major RDF alteration. Everyone except family, friends, or people who have seen them often enough to really know, will perceive them as their new physical sex. Which is essentially the vast majority of people. This effect will spread to all the other TGed until 2008, when it becomes the norm.
- As of 2009, all human ghosts now reflect their real gender, no matter who is looking.
Do animals perceive the RDF? Probably not. But the odor of a fur is neither quite human or animal. There are still some common human pheromones, for example. Which is what makes romance between wolf and deer possible. This is a good thing, since it means that a doe-woman in heat won't be chased down by a normal buck.
It may start to break down as there grow to be millions of furries in the world (see below).
Another storytelling idea: The RDF is an antiviral measure (see The Cause below). When the RDF breaks down, people may change out-of-phase, since they no longer have that protection. This will make it harder to track down people who change and get them the help they need. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but the storytelling device is available. But I don't want it to become commonplace.

Holes in the Veil

As seen in After Hours, on August 29, 2009 the Veil started coming down.

First one appeared in Hyannis, MA on August 29. It quickly expanded to (size to be determined) and outed every furry in town. Other holes appeared in and around Chicago. Without exception they appear first where there's been a recent or frequent concentration of furs.
Holes start small, but will grow depending on how weak the RDF is in the area.
As the RDF decays, furs will feel like they're wrapped in loose plastic. And there's something of a light show. The air shimmers. The air feels cleaner, fresher.
- The RDF is an extra "rendering layer" of sorts. Since until now all furs had lived with it, they only really notice it was there now that it's been taken away. Leaving a Hole a fur will feel like he or she is wearing clothing a size too small or too large, depending on how much they deviate from the human norm. A really sensitive fur might feel suffocated, as if they were wrapped in plastics. They'll feel irritable and given the right situation, may tear new Holes (which could make good story fodder).
They're like soap bubbles in that if they encounter other holes, they'll grow even larger. All of them are still slowly expanding, and may jump to larger sizes at unpredictable intervals.
ROB will start a controlled shutdown of the RDF over the course of the year. Its replacement will be a Weirdness Censor.
- The world is going furry crazy. But not crazy crazy. Using a cooking analogy, it's like a foamed egg whites getting folded into a souffle or other dish that needs careful mixing, or the recipe falls apart.

Furs feel much more comfortable with themselves inside the holes. To furs, the RDF feels like restrictive clothing. Doubly so for the TGed furs. Even normal humans feel better. Caveats:
- Normal humans who spend more and more time inside one of these holes run increasing risk of becoming furry at any time of the year ahead.
- Once the RDF is down completely in late 2010, the above may apply to everyone. The numbers are still doubling as below, but the August 17 restriction no longer applies. And as above, a TG can happen before a TF.
- Furries cease being humans in funny costumes. Their animal natures will more easily bob to the surface. This is partly for psychological reasons (don't have to hide any more). Partly due to the pressure from the RDF being gone.

The Numbers

Total sequence as follows (all figures approximate):

Year  AD  Total Furries  Total Populace  Furries, as %age of total populace
 1  1987              1   5,184,212,887     0.000 000 02%
 2  1988              2   5,247,179,035     0.000 000 04%
 3  1989              4   5,310,909,955     0.000 000 05%
 4  1990              8   5,375,414,934     0.000 000 15%
 5  1991             16   5,440,703,374     0.000 000 3%
 6  1992             32   5,506,784,792     0.000 000 6%
 7  1993             64   5,573,668,818     0.000 001 1%
 8  1994            128   5,641,365,200     0.000 002%
 9  1995            256   5,709,883,806     0.000 004%
10  1996            512   5,779,234,621     0.000 009%
11  1997          1,024   5,849,427,754     0.000 018%
12  1998          2,048   5,920,473,436     0.000 035%
13  1999          4,096   5,992,382,020     0.000 07%
14  2000          8,192   6,065,163,988     0.000 14%
15  2001         16,384   6,138,829,947     0.000 3%
16  2002         32,768   6,213,390,635     0.000 5%
17  2003         65,536   6,288,856,918     0.001%
18  2004        131,072   6,365,239,795     0.002%
19  2005        262,144   6,442,550,400     0.004%
20  2006        524,288   6,520,800,000     0.008%
21  2007      1,048,576   6,600,000,000     0.016%
22  2008      2,097,152   6,680,161,943     0.031%
23  2009      4,194,304   6,761,297,514     0.062%
24  2010      8,388,608   6,843,418,536     0.123%
25  2011     16,777,216   6,926,536,980     0.24%
26  2012     33,554,432   7,010,664,959     0.48%
27  2013     67,108,864   7,095,814,736     0.95%
28  2014    134,217,728   7,181,998,721     1.87%
29  2015    268,435,456   7,269,229,474     3.69%
30  2016    536,870,912   7,357,519,711     7.30%
31  2017  1,073,741,824   7,446,882,298    14.42%
32  2018  2,147,483,648   7,537,330,262    28.49%
33  2019  4,294,967,296   7,628,876,783    56.30%
34  2020  8,589,934,592   7,721,535,206  >100%

At this point stories should take place in 2001 at the earliest, up to the current story-time year. The community gets really, really small before then. If you have a story that takes place in this era, submit it to me first. Thank you.

Things should start to get really interesting around 2010. There's enough furs in the world then that niche markets would start to open up. More clothing and products specifically designed for furries start popping up. Also, it will become harder and harder to induct new furs into the group in a healthy manner. Society may start to break down in places.

It will take a concerted effort by those previously changed to keep everything under control...

Distribution. It's not random, or even. It's an expanding fractal centered on the Chicago area. As far as visualization, I'll leave that vague. But the majority of the first furs were in North America.

From the way these stories are playing out, I'd say that events are unfolding like this:

1987-2002: "Alone" period. Isolation between furries, with only a few very small groups, most of them thinking they're all alone. Best exemplified by MatthiasRat's stories. Nobody knows what's going on.
2002-2008: Forming Communities. There's now enough furs to start encountering each other regularly. Conventions start up. Anthro imagery (in movies, TV shows, and other media) start to show up more frequently. Information getting put together indicates an ominous trend. The whole world will eventually go furry.
2008-?: Events unfolding in Open Secrets will nail down this theme. From here for the next few years, a third to nearly a half of the new Changed will be Known/Friends or family members. People who can see through the Veil easily.

Important Events

This section will be for events of note that will be important to the overall storytelling. Authors feel free to note important events in your works that could impact the setting as a whole here.

2007

First instances of total, permanent RDF breakdown. Incidents isolated.
First appearance of anthro dolphins. The RDF with these people is a very strained affair. The longer they stay around humans, the more likely it'll fail. Perhaps it realigns the image as a normal dolphin in the water, and a human on land.
Added 2/24. Transgendered furs at Tall Tales Con now appear as their new physical gender to anyone but close friends and family. The RDF is even actively changing identification. Active records like passports and driver's licenses, medical records are all altered to reflect this. Even a pre-Change photo ID will show the new human face, which will be a shock to the TGed fur. This effect is slowly spreading to other TGed furs, see Doing Hard Time.
A number of pressing environmental problems relax slightly. While these solutions will solve some problems, they will cause others, especially in the short term.
- The recovery of the major world fisheries detected in the mid-90s continues apace.
- Major discoveries in energy include massive oilfields in various stable First World nations: US, Canada, UK, Norway, etc..
- Scientists observe CO2 levels stabilizing for currently unknown reasons.
- Third World experiences boosts in food production from improved farming practices and soil conditions.
- New renewable energy discoveries, new batteries, a bacterial process for making gasoline and diesel from municipal wastewater.
With all these new furs, there are now enough singles to start pairing up. The lingering worries about fertility and children will be answered next year...

2008

Fallout from Tall Tales Con continues. All newbie and furry gatherings the next year will be much, much smaller, informal.
Although there were a few before this year, this is the first year a large number of furry babies will be born.
A Changed rabbit appears as Playboy's September Playmate of the Month (though only other Changed/Changed-sensitive know it until later).

2009

This Change Day will be different from the others. Instead of all happening in the same moment, the new furs will happen in fits and starts throughout the day. Some might change in the early morning, others late that night. The trend will continue over the next few years.
- Another wrinkle. If there's a TG, they don't have to happen at the same time. So some poor fellow who becomes a clouded leopard in the morning (or a woman) will get hit again sometime later.
The shoe field died in 2008. Now the Veil no longer hides clothing modifications. For some furs this might be a Veil-breaker. We will see.
Since Open Secrets, the secret is functionally out, though a sort of Weirdness Censor is in place, possibly due to widespread denial. Furry imagery started to dominate the media after the first of the year, especially on medical dramas and "what if" shows on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, even the Food Network. Mostly done with CGI, a few shows used furry actors and cameras able to see through the Veil.
The Shutdown, August 17-25. With a major Sleeping Sickness outbreak, much of the world economy shut down for a little over a week, with only essential services (energy, food transport, etc.) kept running. Similar to what Mexico did during the Swine Flu outbreak. Later they are accused of overreacting, as Sleeping Sickness seems to leave a minuscule number of deaths, and the victims healthier than before they contracted it.
- In hindsight this should probably take place after the Bubbles appeared on August 29, all the way through Labor Day on Sept. 7.
The Veil starts coming down, per the events in After Hours. This shows up as "Bubbles", areas where the Veil is simply gone. These expand at various rates and originate in places where many furries have recently congregated.

2010

Tiffany Tanner appears as the first Changed to play a Changed in a recurring role on daytime television. With the aid of a special lens, Tiffany's character "Felice Hunter" on One Life to Live dramatizes the plight of Changed forced to keep secrets from family and friends. Her stint on the show is briefly interrupted when she is kidnapped for several weeks, after which she again makes headlines as one of "Melton's Eleven," eleven furres who had been kidnapped for the private amusement of a twisted, reclusive millionaire (who vanished shortly before they escaped).

2012

There's still a big lump of Change on and around August 17, but the number of Changed grows daily and with increasing speed. It's not unusual to "call in furry" for a few days to get accustomed, but after that it's back to work. The TG'd get a bit longer, but even "The One Percent" are growing in numbers just as fast (but still in proportion). They're the ones who get the media attention.
The "Bubble" situation from 2009-2011 has reversed. There are now shrinking "Pockets" of Veil/RDF. However, the effect in the Pockets is very concentrated. Even the Changed perceive themselves as human. All the original RDF rules apply.
- Pockets aren't always stationary. They move across the surface like beads of mercury on a mirror, or an amoeba moving by throwing pseudopods in one direction.

The Cause

So, why is this happening? What's causing it? A nanotech virus? Microscopic magic pixies? The return of magic? The wrath of God? What?

The answer is contained in Tall Tales.

However, the idea is this. Ever since I read Accelerando By Charles Stross, I've been enamored with the idea of the technological Singularity. So I've been looking for a way to use it in my fiction at one point. This setting provides the answer to that desire. Accelerando is available for free on the web.

Our universe--or perhaps just our planet, I haven't decided yet--and all the people in it, are basically a simulation. This doesn't make the characters in these stories any less real than you our I. Mathematics forms the basis of the universe, after all. The people are as sentient as you or I. This makes the setting rather Matrix-like, without the human bodies being used as "batteries". We're all more like Agent Smith.

I refer to this as a "furry virus". It comes from outside the post-Singularity brain, and is slightly more advanced than "ours". What's happening is this bit of malicious code (sentient, no less, but on a level far beyond our ability to comprehend it) is messing up the simulated world we reside in. Why? I dunno. One of those inscrutable things. The RDF is an antiviral measure to contain the damage and allow the society within to adapt. This is also why so far, furry species are limited to mammals. As the numbers of furs increase, that will change. I have yet to decide just when.

Why not just scrap the whole thing and restore from backup? There are no backups because the simulated people are nevertheless living beings. And they can't just be wiped out.

I hope that explanation isn't too confusing. Please let me know on the Talk Page if you have questions.

Notes on Avatars

So far, the convention for avatars in this setting is for writers to use the first initials of first and last names. However, I wanted to note that my intent here is to give the writer more freedom than to base these characters on yourself. I've changed a lot of details about Jerome, for instance. If you want to put your avatar--if you decide to use one--into this setting, go crazy. Give them a challenge (worse job, emotional trouble). Or make them better off and have the change cause a lot of trouble with work/family/whatever. What I'm trying to say here is, don't feel you have to be directly limited by your present or past self. Have fun.

Important Cast

Paradise Cast List

Since this is a wiki, that means everyone can edit it. Authors who want to put names and short bios of the characters in their stories, just in case someone else wants to use them for a cameo. With the characters, please list the stories that they appear in. Please put your cast members on the linked cast page. Thank you.

Difference between pages "User:JonBuck/After Hours" and "Paradise (Setting)"

Revision as of 13:54, 31 October 2019

Contents

Stories in Chronological Order

Basics

The Transgendered

Physiology

Psychology

The Reality Distortion Field (Veil)

Holes in the Veil

The Numbers

Important Events

The Cause

Notes on Avatars

Important Cast

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{WIP}} [[Category:Jon Buck]] [[Category:Paradise]] [[Category:Transgender]] [[Category:Feline]] {{DEFAULTSORT:After Hours}}
+{{Universe|Paradise}}
-After Hours
+{{byline|author=Jon Buck
-A Paradise Story
+|user=JonBuck}}
-By Jon Buck
+A direct link '''[[User:JonBuck/A Kind of Paradise|To the original story.]]'''
-''August 17, 2009''
+=={{separator|f|Stories in Chronological Order}}==
-JP Rooney's wasn't a bad place to work.  The borderline schlocky décor inside the sports bar suited Sean Frost's tastes very well.  He lived only a few blocks away, easily walkable in good weather.  Hyannis was a traffic nightmare in summer.  Sean rarely left the Cape during the busy season anyway.  Twelve hour shifts from one in the afternoon to one in the morning will do that to a person.
+Authors may add links to their stories as they happen in chronological order in story time.  For a complete listing of all Paradise stories, since this list may be updated sporadically, see [[:Category:Paradise|the Paradise Category]].
-Besides, just trying to get across the Sagamore Bridge was a nightmare in August, in either direction.  It was an order of magnitude worse now since the state decided to remove the rotary.
+'''2000'''
+*[[User:Erastus/On the Outside Looking|On the Outside, Looking...]] ''(Through 2010) ([[User:Erastus|Erastus]])''
-Sean ventured out into the sultry Monday afternoon from his cool one bedroom apartment.  With the thunderheads building to the southwest he expected the weather to turn nasty before eight.  "That's going to scare the tourists away..." he muttered with a sigh.  Crowded bridge or not, there were fewer tourists this year, even with gas hovering around two dollars a gallon.  There was just so much going on, from the continuing anarchy in Africa to oil prices see-sawing wildly between twenty and sixty dollars.
+'''2001'''
+*[[Ranty Raccoon]] ''(Digitalpotato)''
+*[[User:Hawl/Iris_Budding|In Perspective Of An Iris Budding]] ''([[User:Hawl|Hawl]])''
-A twenty year old Chevy Caprice pulled up beside him on the left as he walked.  "Sean!  Why the hell are you walking to work in this soup after being sick?  Get in here!"  Mike Dane leaned over and opened the passenger door.  Sean realized his white dress shirt was getting more sweat-soaked than he wanted, so decided to accept the offer, though it was only a couple more blocks.
+'''2002'''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Made Alone|Made Alone]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Bathing Alone|Bathing Alone]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Not Quite Alone|Not Quite Alone]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Suspected Alone|Suspected Alone]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Revealing Alone|Revealing Alone]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:JonBuck/Outsider|Outsider]] (extends through 2003) ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
-"At least loosen that tie," Mike continued.  Dane was about fifteen years Sean's senior, and a semi-regular at Rooney's.  Like everyone else this summer he was minimizing his driving just to save money.  His love of large cars meant in cooler weather he was more often around town on his electric scooter.  The large man regarded Sean with some concern.  "I've never understood why Chuck insists on that getup."  He gave Sean a rather curious, and a little confused look.  "You're looking better.  Finally over that funky summer flu?"
+'''2003'''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Convention Building|Convention Building]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Model Building | Model Building]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Change Building | Change Building]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
+*[[User:MatthiasRat/Confession Building | Confession Building]] ''([[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat]])''
-"Yeah.  I feel great!  Got over the dregs last night."  White dress shirt, black slacks, a red tie, and black armbands on the upper arms to keep the sleeves from moving around too much while mixing drinks.  The owner of the bar, Chuck Polinsky, thought it gave the place a "classy" air.  "I think the uniform looks pretty good," Sean said.  He turned two of the vents on him and cranked the air conditioning to full blast.  "Thanks for the ride, Mike.  I see you got the AC working on this jalopy."
+'''2004'''
+*[[User_talk:Enphilistor| Victory Starts Here]] [recovered from google cache] ''(Enphilistor)''
-"Shuah thing," he said in an affected New England accent.  He wasn't a local, just someone who had retired young and settled in his vacation house on the Cape.  The man didn't own a car newer than 1991, and all of them were Fords, Chevys, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs.  He bought older cars and restored them to working condition as a hobby and probably had contacts with every junkyard in the Northeast for parts.
+'''2005'''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Holes in the Veil| Holes in the Veil]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Robotech_Master/Capsule_Review:_Changed:_The_Unveiling|RPG.net Capsule Review: Changed: The Unveiling]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Lifting The Veil| Lifting The Veil]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Poking the Veil| Poking the Veil]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Chessrook44/Unforseen Changes| Unforseen Changes]] ''([[User:Chessrook44|Chessrook44]])''
+*[[User:Chessrook44/Unforseen Reactions| Unforseen Reactions]] ''([[User:Chessrook44|Chessrook44]])''
+*[[User:Chessrook44/Unforseen Gifts| Unforseen Gifts]] ''([[User:Chessrook44|Chessrook44]])''
+*[[User:Eirik/Stages|Stages]] (Through October 2006) ''([[User:Eirik|Eirik]])''
+*[[User:Hawl/Perspectives On Chrimstas In Paradise|Perspectives On Christmas In Paradise]] (Extends into 2006)''([[User:Hawl|Hawl]])''
-When he was finished getting them running again he'd donate them to some charity, then start anew.
+'''2006'''
+*[[User:Hawl/The Sexiest Of All Tiger Girls| The Perspective Of The Sexiest of All Tiger Girls]] ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
+*[[User:Hawl/Of Rats And Former Men|Perspective Of Rats And Former Men]] ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
+*[[User:Hawl/An Albino's Breakdown|Perspective Into An Albino's Breakdown]] ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
+*[[User:Hawl/Predator-Prey Relationships|Perspectives On Predator-Prey Relationships]] ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
+*[[User:Hawl/Perspectives Of A Lollipop (Coming Halloween)|Perspectives Of A Lollipop]] ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Film at 2011| Film at 2011]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/GM'O'Fur| GM'O'Fur]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Twisting the Veil| Twisting the Veil]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Silver Fox Tracks|Silver Fox Tracks]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Generations| Generations]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/A Rolling Stone Gathers No Veil|A Rolling Stone Gathers No Veil]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Auld Lang Syne|Auld Lang Syne]] (Extends into 2007) ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Eirik/Reverberations|Reverberations]] ''([[User:Eirik|Eirik]])''
+*[[User:Eirik/Bare Hands|Bare Hands]] ''([[User:Eirik|Eirik]])''
-"So, how's that Honda of yours holding up?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
+'''2007'''
+*[[User:Hawl/Brother's Perspectives|Brother's Perspectives]]'' ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
+*[[User:Hawl/Father's Perspectives|Father's Perspectives|]]'' ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
+*[[User:Eirik/Treatment|Treatment]] ''([[User:Eirik|Eirik]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/It Bears Investigation|It Bears Investigation]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Gaming Furs|Gaming Furs]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:JonBuck/A Kind of Paradise|A Kind of Paradise]] ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
+* [[Murder in Paradise]] ''([[User:Atapari|Atapari]])''
+*[[User:Robotech_Master/Romancing_the_Changed|Romancing the Changed]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Radio No Veil|Radio No Veil]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Six Furries and a Wedding|Six Furries and a Wedding]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:JonBuck/Tall Tales|Tall Tales]] ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
+*[[User:Nikon/Changing Perspectives|Changing Perspectives]] ''([[User:Nikon|Nikon]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Clearing the Air|Clearing the Air]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Eirik/Waters_So_Cold_and_Deep|Waters So Cold and Deep]] ''([[User:Eirik|Eirik]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Doing Hard Time|Doing Hard Time]] (Extends into 2008) ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[Monkey Business]] ''([[User:Boss Hoss|Boss Hoss]])''
+*[[User:Nikon/Coming Home|Coming Home]] (guess based on posting date) ''([[User:Nikon|Nikon]])''
-"Mike, it's four years old.  There's nothing wrong with it," Sean insisted for the sixth time.  "Really, I can't afford one of your land yachts."
+'''2008'''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Live_At_Five|Live At Five]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Rising Waters|Rising Waters]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Gulf_Ice|Gulf Ice]] (Prelude in 2001) ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/The_Bear_Facts|The Bear Facts]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Election Fever|Election Fever]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Eirik/Centers of Power|Centers of Power]] ''([[User:Eirik|Eirik]])''
+*[[User:JonBuck/Open Secrets|Open Secrets]] ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
+*[[User:Chessrook44/Incarceration|Incarceration]] ''([[User:Chessrook44|Chessrook44]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Special Care|Special Care]] ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/NorBAC|NorBAC]] (begins in June; jumps to September) ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
+*[[User:Jetfire/Judge_Judy:_Deagle_vs_Anderson|Judge Judy: Deagle vs Anderson]] (2008 or 2009) ''([[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]])''
-The older man smirked.  "Got my hands on an '84 Honda Civic CR-X.  You know, the one that got almost seventy miles per gallon on the highway?  Fifty five in the city?  It just needs seats and a new headliner.  Nothin' to sneeze at even if gas drops to a dollah."
+'''2009'''
+*[[User:JonBuck/After Hours|After Hours]] ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
-Sean felt speechless.  "You said you'd never touch a Japanese car!"
+'''2010'''
+*[[User:JonBuck/Changing America|Changing America]] (work in progress) ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
+*[[User:Robotech_Master/See Change: March 20, 2010|See Change: March 20, 2010]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
+* ''Melton's Eleven''
+**[[User:Robotech_Master/Tiffnapped|Tiffnapped]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
+**[[User:Robotech_Master/Holding Helena|Holding Helena]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
+**[[User:Robotech_Master/The Truth About Cats and Dogs|The Truth About Cats and Dogs]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
+**[[User:Robotech_Master/The Taming of the Snow Leopardess|The Taming of the Snow Leopardess]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
+*[[User:JonBuck/Family Tree|Family Tree]] ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
-"Yeah, I know.  But money talks and I could still sell this car for three times what it'd get last year, even with the price drop.  Everyone still remembers the shortages and six dollars.  Seventy miles per gallon, Sean.  And I'm giving you first shot at it.  If you can come up with a thousand bucks, it's yours."  Dane stopped in front of the bar.
+'''2011'''
-The bartender's hand hovered over the door handle.  A grand was still a lot of money, especially since this tourist season was so sparse.  He had an emergency fund he'd have to use some of in order to buy it.  He could easily use his one credit card, which didn't have a balance right now.  "Can you give me a couple of days, Mike?  My Civic is already pretty good on the mileage and it's almost paid for."
+'''2012'''
+*[[User:JonBuck/Travelers|Travelers]] ''([[User:JonBuck|JonBuck]])''
-"I should have the parts to fix 'er up in about four days.  Let me know by then, okay bud?"  He extended his hand.
-Shaking Mike's hand was always a strange experience.  Sean thought he felt more hair than there was, and that man had a ''strong'' grip.  He'd seen the older mechanic lift car parts by himself that Sean wouldn't have done without one or two other people.  The cars he drove actually creaked when he sat down.  "I will.  Thanks again."  He pulled on the handle and got out of the Caprice.
+- Two Lovers:Iris and Gabriel (Call this a Teaser Trailer, for now.)
-As the bartender walked around the front end, Mike rolled down his window.  "Say... you didn't feel anything odd getting over that flu, did you?"
+'''Alternate Future/Non-Canon Stories'''
+'''2006'''
+*[[User:Hawl/Dystopia|Dystopia]] ''([[User:Hawl|HawlSera]])''
-"Like what?"
+'''2063'''
+*[[User:Robotech_Master/The Future is Paradise|The Future is Paradise]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
-The man shook his head.  "Never you mind.  I'll be in for the Red Sox game tonight with some friends, bud.  See you then."  He drove off.
+'''2064'''
+*[[User:Robotech_Master/Paradise Forever|Paradise Forever]] ''([[User:Robotech_Master|Robotech_Master]])''
-Sean watched him go and shrugged.  Mike and his friends were always a little weird anyway.
+'''Undetermined'''
+*[[Cascade Failure]]  ''([[User:Fibio|Fibio]])''
-{{Separator|k}}
+=={{separator|f|Basics}}==
+*The setting is basically indistinguishable from the Real World up until 1987, the year when people first begin to spontaneously transform into furries.
+*Exactly one person transformed in Year One ''(i.e.,'' 1987), and the number of furries doubles in late August each year.  The initial story in this setting, [[User:JonBuck/A Kind of Paradise|A Kind of Paradise]], is set in Year 21 ''(i.e.,'' 2007), when there are just over one million furries.  The next year (2008) will add a million, for a total of two megafurries, and so forth.
+*The first furry in 1987 was a vixen, with a tod the next year.  Some stereotypes do have a basis in "reality". :)
+**The entire world will be furry in 2020.
+*Every year it's possible that an already-changed person could change ''again''. With increasing rarity, all less than one percent:
+**A species change. ("What the..?  I'm a ''wolf'' now?  What am I supposed to do with all these hoof picks?")
+**A gender change. ("Where do men put this ''thing'' between our legs when we sit down?")
+**A combination of both. ("Don't ''even'' call me a bitch!  Just show me how to put on this stupid bra!")
+**The next year there is about a 25% chance that the person will revert to their original gender/first species.  If that doesn't happen, it's fixed.  If they change back... there's another 25% chance that you'll bounce back ''again'' the next year.  So there's some potential for characters who spend years alternating between species/gender.
+*Also distinctive from Winds of Change: ''No superpowers''.  Just whatever natural abilities (things like augmented senses, physical strength, ''etc)'' come from being half animal.
+*'''The Role Reversal Paradox.'''
+**''IF'' the couple has children, pre- or post-Change, no matter what age...
+**''IF'' one of the couple has been transgendered...
+**''THEN'' it is essentially a sure thing that the partner will TG as well.
+**The reason for this is simple.  ROB hates paradoxes.  If they have children, there ''must'' be a father and a mother.  And it ''must'' be the same two people.  It doesn't matter if that person divorced and remarried someone else.  Or if they're unmarried.  One father, one mother.  Otherwise, the kids will logically not have come into existence.
+**Conversely, if they are married/going out/living together/etc., the same TG 1% dice roll applies to them as everyone else.
-The sports bar was divided into four large rooms, each of them with a half dozen 50" HDTVs.  They were devoted to various sports, depending on what was in season.  Baseball, basketball, football, soccer, horse racing, hockey, the Olympics, NASCAR, Formula One, the Tour de France.  Whatever people wanted to see, Chuck Polinsky would oblige.  Each room had its own fully stocked bar and held about forty people.
+'''Important.'''  Please ''do not'' write stories that are father ahead in the timeline than those I have written.''
-Sean entered through the back door and headed for the break room next to the kitchen to clock in.  The chefs and their staff were busy prepping for lunch.  Sadie waved at him as he'd walked in.
+'''Note on Politics'''. As a request, I ask authors not to use major political figures from Real Life.  I don't want any political bashing going on here.  Characters like Congressman Sandrick are perfectly fine, so feel free to create fictional members of Congress or Members of Parliament.  Remember this world is different from ours from 1987 onwards.  There are still details I haven't filled in between then and now, and the Butterfly Effect means that there will be some small, some major differences.
-A few minutes remained before the bar opened.  Since daytime was generally quieter than the rest of the day only two of the four rooms opened.  Sean could already see his fellow bartender at her bar, taking her usual inventory of spirits and liquor.  Before he did the same thing there was an important errand to take care of.  He went upstairs to the office and knocked on Chuck's door before opening it.
+{{add|'''Winners of the 2008 Election'''}}
+*President: Karen Hutchinson. (Reverse Pres. Obama and his wife, basically)
+*VP: Steven Angstrom
-Chuck Polinsky was in his mid-forties, but you wouldn't know it to look at him.  He had a runner's physique and competed in the Boston Marathon every year.  "You're looking better, Sean.  Over that stomach flu?"
+===The Transgendered===
+Just a few details.
+#This is an earlier, generally harmless virus that got into the simulation.  ROB dealt with it by the "history editing" as described in the stories.
+#It's been around a LOT longer than the Furry Virus.
+#Even though it's probably been around for thousands of years, there are far fewer victims than the Furry Virus as of 2009.  I imagine the furry virus co-opted this one for the TGed furs.
+#As in real life, there are many more male to female victims than the other way around.
+#Transgendered victims have little or no support system like furries do.  They're generally isolated.  And before 2009 couldn't see through the RDF.
-"It pretty much evaporated this morning, Mr. P.  I feel great!  I just wanted to pick up my paycheck before I started work," Sean said.
+===Physiology===
-Polinsky leaned forward behind his spotless oaken desk, scrutinizing his employee from head to toe.  Sean Frost was an American Mutt.  One quarter Chinese, with the rest spread among Irish, English, and Italian ancestors.  The results were an unlikely mix of slightly Asian facial features and a slight build.  "You sure you're feeling like yourself?  Everything's where it's supposed to be?"
+*Furries can still interbreed with one another as if they were all still human.  Children most often follow their parents' species, however, they can also follow their grandparents species, or something out of left field.
+*Conversely, humans '''cannot''' interbreed with furries, probably due to the RDF.
+*There are some physical variations, but not the wide "Degrees" that Winds of Change has.  The most obvious differences are hair, feet, and hands.  Otherwise, most everyone is about as morphic as seen in common furry art.
+**Females most often have hair the same color and similar texture as their fur.  Though you do still get the occasional blond.
+**Males retain their hair less frequently.
+*'''Size Limitations.''' On the suggestion from the Talk page.  I'm not going to limit species.  However, I will have a minimum/maximum size range:
+**7 feet (or 2.1m), max.  About 600 lb (272 kg), max.
+**4 feet (1.2m).  I'll leave the small side open.
+*Species are native to a particular continent.  So most people in North America will end up whitetail deer, elk, bears, foxes, wolves, etc.  Recent immigrants will more likely end up native species to wherever they came from.
+**However, this means that someone from Seattle could ''still'' end up a leopard, or a llama, or what-have-you from other continents.  I just want to make that clear.
+**No mythicals like dragons, griffins, satyrs, vampires, mages, what-have-you.  Just furries.
+**No birds, reptiles, or other non-mammals.
+*'''No Extinct Species.''' No dinosaurs.  Sadly, I can't include them.  There are so many species that are just too big.
+*'''Note on Transsexuals'''.  This setting is intended as a mix of wish fulfillment and darker, more realistic consequences.  That said, all TS folks get their bodies "corrected".  Keep in mind that this won't necessarily make life easier for said character.  Conflict generates Plot.  And since most of the folks who get their gender switched ''won't'' be TS, there's still plenty of that around.
+*Results of major surgeries are translated.  Artificial hips, knees and pacemakers still work as needed.  Transplant patients will not reject their organs.  However, lost limbs will not regenerate and major chronic diseases will not be cured, but may go into a lengthy remission.
+*One of the major benefits is a major improvement in health and fitness.  ROB can't stop the change, but at least he can give the victims a sort of consolation prize.  You may not end up in perfect shape, but it'll be close.  A flood of positive endorphins to make the victim feel good about their new bodies doesn't hurt, either (optional).  Now, what happens to that state of fitness ''after'' is entirely up to your characters.
-"Never better, sir."
+===Psychology===
+*At this point I'm inclined to have some mitigating effects on the "victims".  It's still going to be very, very hard to deal with.  This is a major life disruption.  And there are no doubt a lot of secluded furs.  But suicides aren't as common as you'd think.
+*The transgendered furs do have an even rougher time.  The double-whammy of species and gender would likely make serious post-change Issues a reality.
+**Transgendered furs typically refer to themselves by their initials: BD, DL, etc..
+**Some might end up going a little crazy and think they had ''always been'' their new gender, especially after the effects of Tall Tales Con.
+*The more adjusted furs have figured out how to find these troubled souls and bring them back into the real world.
-Polinsky combed his fingertips through his iron gray hair.  "Uh... I hate to say this, but there's been a mix-up with the payroll company.  We're working on straightening it out, of course."
+=={{separator|f|The Reality Distortion Field (Veil)}}==
+*Humans can't see furries for what they are.  They still see whatever the person looked like before, even if that person was the opposite gender.
+*Some things aren't filtered correctly.  Consequently...
+**If a TGed man gets pregnant, the filter will change that person's ghost image to female.  But she will still appear human to other humans.
+**Things like hoof/paw prints, shed fur, shed antlers, clawmarks, animal odors, etc., are not filtered.  So if a cougar morph gets in a fight with a normal human and lashes out with his claws, he could cause a hell of a lot of damage.
+**Some humans think that there is something up (referred to as "Known" or "Friends").  And some have figured out that the friends who claim to be furry actually ''are'' what they claim to be.
+*The RDF sometimes breaks down a little during large gatherings of furries (like at conventions).  "Hey, that's the best costume I've ever seen!  Is that a prosthetic muzzle?"  Memories afterwards will probably remember some really good costumes, and photos will be perceived as such.
+**In more extreme cases it will break down entirely.  But it would take repeated exposures, or perhaps having a number of furry friends while remaining humans oneself.  Like in [[User:Nikon/Changing_Perspectives|Changing Perspectives]].
+**Transgendered furs may be perceived by humans as their new gender out of the corner of their eye.  And there are likely other circumstances where the human RDF image will realign also.  Specific circumstances (such as pregnancy) will be the decisive factor.
+**As of 2007, TGed TallTales Con attendees have had a major RDF alteration.  Everyone except family, friends, or people who have seen them often enough to really know, will perceive them as their new physical sex.  Which is essentially the vast majority of people. This effect will spread to all the other TGed until 2008, when it becomes the norm.
+**'''As of 2009''', all human ghosts now reflect their real gender, no matter who is looking.
+*Do animals perceive the RDF?  Probably not.  But the odor of a fur is neither quite human or animal.  There are still some common human pheromones, for example.  Which is what makes romance between wolf and deer possible.  This is a ''good'' thing, since it means that a doe-woman in heat won't be chased down by a normal buck.
+*It may start to break down as there grow to be millions of furries in the world (see below).
+*Another storytelling idea: The RDF is an ''antiviral measure'' (see The Cause below).  When the RDF breaks down, people ''may'' change out-of-phase, since they no longer have that protection.  This will make it harder to track down people who change and get them the help they need.  This is ''not'' a hard-and-fast rule, but the storytelling device is available.  But I '''don't''' want it to become commonplace.
-"Mix-up?  What do you mean by that?" Sean replied worriedly.
+==={{separator|f|Holes in the Veil}}===
-Sean's employer handed him an envelope.  The bartender stared.  "Who the ''hell'' is Serena Frost?"
+As seen in [[User:JonBuck/After Hours|After Hours]], on August 29, 2009 the Veil started coming down.
-"Your sister?" Chuck quipped with nervous laughter.
+*First one appeared in Hyannis, MA on August 29.  It quickly expanded to (size to be determined) and outed every furry in town.  Other holes appeared in and around Chicago.  Without exception they appear first where there's been a recent or frequent concentration of furs.
+*Holes start small, but will grow depending on how weak the RDF is in the area.
+*As the RDF decays, furs will feel like they're wrapped in loose plastic.  And there's something of a light show.  The air shimmers.  The air feels cleaner, fresher.
+**The RDF is an extra "rendering layer" of sorts. Since until now all furs had lived with it, they only really notice it was there now that it's been taken away.  Leaving a Hole a fur will feel like he or she is wearing clothing a size too small or too large, depending on how much they deviate from the human norm.  A really sensitive fur might feel suffocated, as if they were wrapped in plastics.  They'll feel irritable and given the right situation, may tear ''new'' Holes (which could make good story fodder).
+*They're like soap bubbles in that if they encounter other holes, they'll grow even larger.  All of them are still slowly expanding, and may jump to larger sizes at unpredictable intervals.
+*ROB will start a controlled shutdown of the RDF over the course of the year.  Its replacement will be a Weirdness Censor.
+**The world is going furry crazy.  But not ''crazy crazy''.  Using a cooking analogy, it's like a foamed egg whites getting folded into a souffle or other dish that needs careful mixing, or the recipe falls apart.
-"I have two brothers.  What did ADP say?"
+*Furs feel much more comfortable with themselves inside the holes.  To furs, the RDF feels like restrictive clothing.  Doubly so for the TGed furs.  Even normal humans feel better.  Caveats:
+**Normal humans who spend more and more time inside one of these holes run increasing risk of becoming furry at any time of the year ahead.
+**Once the RDF is down completely in late 2010, the above may apply to everyone.  The numbers are still doubling as below, but the August 17 restriction no longer applies.  And as above, a TG can happen before a TF.
+**Furries cease being humans in funny costumes.  Their animal natures will more easily bob to the surface.  This is partly for psychological reasons (don't have to hide any more).  Partly due to the pressure from the RDF being gone.
-"It'll probably work itself out pretty quick," Polinsky said.  He looked very nervous now, nostrils flaring.  "I'm sure she'll be along... soon."
+=={{separator|f|The Numbers}}==
-"She has my address and employee number.  I'm going to rip ADP a new one," Sean snarled.
+Total sequence as follows (all figures approximate):
+ Year  AD  Total Furries  Total Populace  Furries, as %age of total populace
+  1987              1   5,184,212,887     0.000 000 02%
+1988              2   5,247,179,035     0.000 000 04%
+  1989              4   5,310,909,955     0.000 000 05%
+  1990              8   5,375,414,934     0.000 000 15%
+  1991             16   5,440,703,374     0.000 000 3%
+  1992             32   5,506,784,792     0.000 000 6%
+  1993             64   5,573,668,818     0.000 001 1%
+  1994            128   5,641,365,200     0.000 002%
+  1995            256   5,709,883,806     0.000 004%
+  1996            512   5,779,234,621     0.000 009%
+  1997          1,024   5,849,427,754     0.000 018%
+  1998          2,048   5,920,473,436     0.000 035%
+  1999          4,096   5,992,382,020     0.000 07%
+  2000          8,192   6,065,163,988     0.000 14%
+  2001         16,384   6,138,829,947     0.000 3%
+  2002         32,768   6,213,390,635     0.000 5%
+  2003         65,536   6,288,856,918     0.001%
+  2004        131,072   6,365,239,795     0.002%
+  2005        262,144   6,442,550,400     0.004%
+  2006        524,288   6,520,800,000     0.008%
+  2007      1,048,576   6,600,000,000     0.016%
+  2008      2,097,152   6,680,161,943     0.031%
+  2009      4,194,304   6,761,297,514     0.062%
+  2010      8,388,608   6,843,418,536     0.123%
+  2011     16,777,216   6,926,536,980     0.24%
+  2012     33,554,432   7,010,664,959     0.48%
+  2013     67,108,864   7,095,814,736     0.95%
+  2014    134,217,728   7,181,998,721     1.87%
+  2015    268,435,456   7,269,229,474     3.69%
+  2016    536,870,912   7,357,519,711     7.30%
+  2017  1,073,741,824   7,446,882,298    14.42%
+  2018  2,147,483,648   7,537,330,262    28.49%
+  2019  4,294,967,296   7,628,876,783    56.30%
+  2020  8,589,934,592   7,721,535,206  >100%
-Tapping his fingertips on his desk, Polinsky pondered what to say next.  "I'm glad you're feeling better.  You're one of my best employees.  But if at ''any time'' today you start feeling strange, or you start seeing things--I had that flu a couple years ago--feel free to leave your post and lock yourself in my office.  Okay?"
+At this point stories should take place in '''2001 at the earliest''', up to the current story-time year.  The community gets really, really small before then.  If you have a story that takes place in this era, submit it to me first.  Thank you.
-"Um, okay.  Thanks boss."
+Things should start to get really interesting around 2010.  There's enough furs in the world then that niche markets would start to open up.  More clothing and products specifically designed for furries start popping up.  Also, it will become harder and harder to induct new furs into the group in a healthy manner.  Society may start to break down in places.
-"Remember, Mike and his crew are in the Red Sox Room today.  They've rented the whole place this time, so it's just going to be you and Tracy out there this afternoon."
+It will take a concerted effort by those previously changed to keep everything under control...
-That was clearly a dismissal.  Sean nodded and headed back downstairs.
+'''Distribution.'''  It's not random, or even.  It's an expanding fractal centered on the Chicago area.  As far as visualization, I'll leave that vague.  But the majority of the first furs were in North America.
-{{Separator|k}}
+From the way these stories are playing out, I'd say that events are unfolding like this:
-Most of the bartenders at Rooney's were women--they tended to get better tips.  Tracy was a graduate student at Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute.  She had wavy light brown hair that always looked perfect, and smelled a little of sea salt after her excursions out to see.  She normally wouldn't give Sean the time of day, but when he entered and told her they'd be working together today, she actually seemed shocked.
+*'''1987-2002''': "Alone" period.  Isolation between furries, with only a few very small groups, most of them thinking they're all alone.  Best exemplified by [[User:MatthiasRat|MatthiasRat's]] stories.  Nobody knows what's going on.
+*'''2002-2008''': Forming Communities.  There's now enough furs to start encountering each other regularly.  Conventions start up.  Anthro imagery (in movies, TV shows, and other media) start to show up more frequently.  Information getting put together indicates an ominous trend.  The whole world will eventually go furry.
+*'''2008-?''': Events unfolding in [[User:JonBuck/Open Secrets|Open Secrets]] will nail down this theme.  {{add|From here for the next few years, a third to nearly a half of the new Changed will be Known/Friends or family members.  People who can see through the Veil easily.}}
-"You sure you're feeling okay?" she asked him in a sisterly tone, nostrils flaring like Chuck's had.
+===Important Events===
+This section will be for events of note that will be important to the overall storytelling.  Authors feel free to note important events in your works that could impact the setting as a whole here.
-"Yes, I'm fine!  Except my paycheck got screwed up.  Some girl with my last naaa..."  There was no pain.  And its absence was one of the things that he would remember most.  But he started coughing, and when next he spoke, his voice had changed pitch and timbre.  "Some girl with... with...  What the fuck?" Sean's hand flew to his throat.
+'''2007'''
+*First instances of total, permanent [[User:Nikon/Changing Perspectives|RDF breakdown]].  Incidents isolated.
+*First appearance of anthro dolphins.  The RDF with these people is a very strained affair.  The longer they stay around humans, the more likely it'll fail.  Perhaps it realigns the image as a normal dolphin in the water, and a human on land.
+*'''Added 2/24.''' Transgendered furs at [[User:JonBuck/Tall Tales|Tall Tales Con]] now appear as their new physical gender to anyone but close friends and family.  The RDF is even actively changing identification.  Active records like passports and driver's licenses, medical records are all altered to reflect this.  Even a pre-Change photo ID will show the new human face, which will be a shock to the TGed fur.  This effect is slowly spreading to other TGed furs, see [[User:Jetfire/Doing Hard Time|Doing Hard Time]].
+*A number of pressing environmental problems relax slightly.  While these solutions will solve some problems, they will cause others, especially in the short term.
+**The recovery of the major world fisheries detected in the mid-90s continues apace.
+**Major discoveries in energy include massive oilfields in various stable First World nations: US, Canada, UK, Norway, etc..
+**Scientists observe CO2 levels stabilizing for currently unknown reasons.
+**Third World experiences boosts in food production from improved farming practices and soil conditions.
+**New renewable energy discoveries, new batteries, a bacterial process for making gasoline and diesel from municipal wastewater.
+*With all these new furs, there are now enough singles to start pairing up.  The lingering worries about fertility and children will be answered next year...
-He found no Adam's Apple.  And his voice no longer resonated.    "What... what do I sound like?" he stammered.
+'''2008'''
+*Fallout from Tall Tales Con continues.  All newbie and furry gatherings the next year will be much, much smaller, informal.
+*Although there were a few before this year, this is the first year a large number of furry babies will be born.
+*A Changed rabbit appears as ''Playboy'''s September Playmate of the Month (though only other Changed/Changed-sensitive know it until later).
-Tracy put her hands on his shoulders.  "You're going to be okay, Sean.  You'll be fine.  Just don't panic, and just let it flow through you."
+'''2009'''
+*This Change Day will be different from the others.  Instead of all happening in the same moment, the new furs will happen in fits and starts throughout the day.  Some might change in the early morning, others late that night.  The trend will continue over the next few years.
+**Another wrinkle.  If there's a TG, they don't have to happen at the same time.  So some poor fellow who becomes a clouded leopard in the morning (or a woman) will get hit again sometime later.
+* The shoe field died in 2008.  Now the Veil no longer hides clothing modifications.  For some furs this might be a Veil-breaker.  We will see.
+*Since [[User:JonBuck/Open Secrets|Open Secrets]], the secret is functionally out, though a sort of [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WeirdnessCensor Weirdness Censor] is in place, possibly due to widespread denial.  Furry imagery started to dominate the media after the first of the year, especially on medical dramas and "what if" shows on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, even the Food Network.  Mostly done with CGI, a few shows used furry actors and cameras able to see through the Veil.
+* '''The Shutdown''', August 17-25.  With a major Sleeping Sickness outbreak, much of the world economy shut down for a little over a week, with only essential services (energy, food transport, etc.) kept running.  Similar to what Mexico did during the Swine Flu outbreak.  Later they are accused of overreacting, as Sleeping Sickness seems to leave a minuscule number of deaths, and the victims healthier than before they contracted it.
+**'''In hindsight this should probably take place after the Bubbles appeared on August 29, all the way through Labor Day on Sept. 7.'''
+*The Veil starts coming down, per the events in [[User:JonBuck/After Hours|After Hours]].  This shows up as "Bubbles", areas where the Veil is simply gone.  These expand at various rates and originate in places where many furries have recently congregated.
-"Let what flow through me!" he shouted.  He spoke with a woman's voice.  "I'm having some sort of relapse.  This is hella strange laryngitis..."  He stared at his co-worker.  "Are you wearing heels or something?"
+'''2010'''
+*Tiffany Tanner appears as the first Changed to play a Changed in a recurring role on daytime television. With the aid of a special lens, Tiffany's character "Felice Hunter" on ''One Life to Live'' dramatizes the plight of Changed forced to keep secrets from family and friends. Her stint on the show is briefly interrupted when she is kidnapped for several weeks, after which she again makes headlines as one of "Melton's Eleven," eleven furres who had been kidnapped for the private amusement of a twisted, reclusive millionaire (who vanished shortly before they escaped).
-She let him go and dashed upstairs.  Just in time for the dam to break.  He felt a tightness in his groin, a growing pressure in his hips.  Everything started happening at once, too fast to think straight.  It was all he could do to stay upright by grabbing hold of the brass rail on the side of the bar.
+'''2012'''
+*There's still a big lump of Change on and around August 17, but the number of Changed grows daily and with increasing speed.  It's not unusual to "call in furry" for a few days to get accustomed, but after that it's back to work.  The TG'd get a bit longer, but even "The One Percent" are growing in numbers just as fast (but still in proportion).  They're the ones who get the media attention.
+*The "Bubble" situation from 2009-2011 has reversed.  There are now shrinking "Pockets" of Veil/RDF.  However, the effect in the Pockets is very concentrated.  Even the Changed perceive themselves as human.  All the original RDF rules apply.
+**Pockets aren't always stationary.  They move across the surface like beads of mercury on a mirror, or an amoeba moving by throwing pseudopods in one direction.
-"You left him in the middle of the Change?!" Chuck shouted from above.  "Get down there, woman!"
+=={{separator|f|The Cause}}==
-There was a moment, a brief moment, when the two ''creatures'' who reappeared distracted Sean from twisting sensations from his body.  An anthropomorphic coyote and a female (definitely female) cougar stood there in Chuck and Tracy's clothes, mouths agape.  But the image flickered and then they were both standing there again.  "Is that it?" Tracy said.  "Where's the rest?"
+So, why is this happening?  What's causing it?  A nanotech virus?  Microscopic magic pixies?  The return of magic?  The wrath of God?  What?
-"I don't know, but it fits with what I've read on the boards," Chuck said.
+The answer is contained in '''[[User:JonBuck/Tall Tales|Tall Tales]]'''.
-The twisting sensation slowed, then vanished, leaving only a strange buoyancy behind.  Sean stared down at the view, and with slender fingers and polished nails, loosened the tie and unbuttoned his shirt halfway.  Then all at once his new body ''slammed'' his senses with its bulges, curves, breasts, a singular absence, and ''breasts.''  Even his slacks had been replaced with a skirt, like what Tracy wore.  "Um... I...  I'm a woman?  How?  Why... the..."
+However, the idea is this.  Ever since I read [http://www.accelerando.org/ ''Accelerando''] By Charles Stross, I've been enamored with the idea of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity technological Singularity].  So I've been looking for a way to use it in my fiction at one point.  This setting provides the answer to that desire.  ''Accelerando'' is available for free on the web.
-"Catch her if she faints, Chuck," Tracy said.
+Our universe--or perhaps just our planet, I haven't decided yet--and all the people in it, are basically a simulation.  This doesn't make the characters in these stories any less real than you our I.  Mathematics forms the basis of the universe, after all.  The people are as sentient as you or I.  This makes the setting rather Matrix-like, without the human bodies being used as "batteries".  We're all more like Agent Smith.
-"No, I'm okay.  Really.  I'm fine!" Sean insisted.  In fact, she felt fantastic.  She turned around and removed some of the bottles from in front of the mirrored backing behind them, and had a look.  Her hair had lengthened down to her shoulders, and the girl looking back looked like the sister Sean had never had.  She put her hands on the sides of her breasts and smushed them together.  "Ow!"
+I refer to this as a "furry virus".  It comes from outside the post-Singularity brain, and is slightly more advanced than "ours".  What's happening is this bit of malicious code (sentient, no less, but on a level far beyond our ability to comprehend it) is messing up the simulated world we reside in.  Why? I dunno.  One of those inscrutable things.  The RDF is an antiviral measure to contain the damage and allow the society within to adapt.  This is also why so far, furry species are limited to mammals.  As the numbers of furs increase, that ''will'' change. I have yet to decide just when.
-"Is she going to stay human?" Tracy said.
+Why not just scrap the whole thing and restore from backup?  There are no backups because the simulated people are nevertheless living beings.  And they can't just be wiped out.
-"I don't know," Chuck said.  He ''flickered'' again.
+I hope that explanation isn't too confusing.  Please let me know on the '''[[Talk:Paradise (Setting)|Talk Page]]''' if you have questions.
-Sean suddenly felt a little dizzy.  Overwhelmed with dissonance.  "Um... You mean I'm not... I wasn't seeing Wyle E Coyote standing where Chuck is a second ago?"
+=={{separator|f|Notes on Avatars}}==
+So far, the convention for avatars in this setting is for writers to use the first initials of first and last names.  However, I wanted to note that my intent here is to give the writer more freedom than to base these characters on yourself.  I've changed a lot of details about Jerome, for instance.  If you want to put your avatar--if you decide to use one--into this setting, go crazy.  Give them a challenge (worse job, emotional trouble).  Or make them better off and have the change cause a lot of trouble with work/family/whatever.  What I'm trying to say here is, don't feel you have to be directly limited by your present or past self.  ''Have fun.''
-"I'm going to be straight with you, Sean," Chuck said.  "That paycheck wasn't a mistake, and we knew this was going to happen to you this morning.  Mike was shocked as hell when he saw you walk out of your apartment a male human.  I was expecting to have him bring you here, er... different.  Sort of like you are now."
+=={{separator|f|Important Cast}}==
-"Only sort of?" Sean stammered, staring at the girl in the mirror.  Not the girl.  Herself.  The girl whose name was on the paycheck.  ''"I'm'' Serena Frost?"
+'''[[Paradise Cast List]]'''
-"ROB thinks of everything these days," Tracy said.  She'd briefly gone into the break room and retrieved a denim purse.  She handed it over, giving Sean another feline flash.  "This is yours.  Check your driver's license, everything.  As far as the paper trail's concerned, you're Serena Frost."
+Since this is a wiki, that means everyone can edit it.  Authors who want to put names and short bios of the characters in their stories, just in case someone else wants to use them for a cameo.  With the characters, please list the stories that they appear in.  Please put your cast members on the linked cast page.  Thank you.
-Sean's license did show a slightly younger woman than the one in the mirror with the ubiquitous unready expression on her face.  Same birthdate, everything.  "That still doesn't answer my question!  ''Why am I a woman!"''
+[[Category:Paradise]]
-"For the same reason I'm a man.  Or male, at least," Chuck said gravely.  The middle-aged man tilted his head.  "What do you see when you look at us?  Tracy and myself."
-"Like you always are, what..."  There was that flicker again, lasting much longer this time.  If Sean's back wasn't already against the bar she wouldn't fallen over backwards.  Suddenly gaining a pair of breasts and ovaries didn't matter any more.  The people standing in front of her were unquestionably still Chuck and Tracy.  Aside from the almost cartoonishly human eyes, there were a couple of furries standing there instead.  As the glimpses before, a coyote and a cougar on two legs, looking like they'd evolved that way.  "Holy shit!  You're animals!"
-Sean fumbled for one of the bottles she'd removed from the shelf.  Some Jose Cuervo tequila.  "I need a drink."
-Chuck-the-coyote took the hard liquor out of her unresisting hands.  "Talk, first.  Then drink.  You're not done changing yet, and I have a lot to explain.
-"And I'm going to start with..." He visibly girded himself.  "Two years ago, my name was Cynthia.  And I don't expect I'll be her ever again."
-{{Separator|k}}
-Sean listened for an hour as Chuck explained how the world worked now, beneath the surface.  During that time she paid little attention.  Between her own new body and the continually arriving furries, everything felt surreal.  Like stepping into a Disney cartoon, or maybe that creepy rabbit movie ''Watership Down'' she'd seen as a child.  When a horse-man wearing Mike's dingy flannel shirt and cutoff denim shorts entered, she gaped.  "Holy... No wonder!"
-He had dusky reddish fur with a black mane and tail, and white feathering over his hooves that had been trimmed back around his hands.  He carried himself like Mike, and suddenly a lot of odd habits had an explanation.  Like the odd handmade shoes he'd taken to wearing last year.  "You're a horse!" Sean sputtered.
-"And you're a woman," Mike replied.  "And still human?  What's up with this, Chuck?"
-"I don't know what's going on with her either," Polinsky said.  "But we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.  But her paper trail is all taken care of.  I double checked everything I have access to."
-"What do you mean by that?" Sean said.
-"What he means, Serena, is that you'd better start thinking of yourself with that name," Mike said.  "You're Serena Frost.  Your birth certificate, tax records, credit history, even photographs, every damned thing will show you as a woman.  I think it's God's way of telling people like you and Chuck to move on with your lives."
-"Whoa.  Hold the phone," Sean said.  "That doesn't make any sense.  If God or whatever can erase all the physical evidence of being a man, why can't he make me think I was always a woman?  It'd make life easier!"
-The coyote lolled his tongue.  "I don't think ROB likes being so... direct.  He doesn't alter memories directly.  I bet you're feeling pretty good right now, right?  Not feeling any panic?  Can you look at your face in the mirror and think of that reflection as your own without feeling strange about it?  I'm betting you can.  I did."
-Mike had pulled up a chair and was sitting in it backwards, his tail swishing behind him.  He nodded in agreement.  "You were pretty well adjusted when I met you, Chuck.  You're not exactly an effeminate guy, either.  I mean, look at this place."
-The new woman gestured for the men to stop.  "Whoa, just wait.  If I'm going to be Serena, fine.  Honestly, looking at you two I'm more scared of walking out of here with rabbit ears than a pair of breasts and all the rest."  She smiled brightly.  "I can't really explain ''why'' but... I know it's going to be different.  But that's a good thing.  It's not like I was looking for this, but here I am.  Serena Frost.  And I'm going to find out just who she is.  It'll be fun."
-"How very glib," Tracy said dryly.  Her tail tip swished under her skirt.  "Say that again in a year and I'll believe you, 'Serena'.  Until then you're still a man in a woman's body."  Her ears folded back. "She is going to change again, isn't she?  I've never heard of one happening before the other unless they went furry the year before.  ''Never'' changing sex first.  It's freaky seeing Sean like this."
-''Then I'm a man in a woman's body,'' Serena thought, mentally shrugging.  She scooted out of the booth.  "You know what?  I'm going to go into the restroom and do jumping jacks with my shirt off.  If I start changing into a mole or something I'll shout.  Leave me alone for a bit, okay?" she huffed.  "I have to pull my thoughts together.  Because when you get down to it, I'm not supposed to be a woman and you all aren't supposed to be whatever the hell you are."
-Tracy's expression softened.  She walked up beside Serena.  "Look, I didn't mean to come off so pissy.  You're not always going to feel so positive.  And there's the slim chance you'll change back next year anyway.  If you have any questions, just ask."
-"Hey, I can answer 'em, too," Chuck pointed out.  The coyote shifted in his seat.  "Um, maybe.  It's been a while."
-More furries were entering.  Some of them were obviously new to their forms.  It was definitely time to get out of line of sight.  Besides, there was the little matter of bladder relief she hadn't felt like mentioning to them.  Serena headed for the staff restroom.
-{{Separator|k}}
-It wasn't her bladder.  She just didn't want to feel like she was the star attraction when the next part of the Change hit.
-Serena locked the door behind her.  The staff restroom was unisex, kept as clean as possible in a place like this.  It smelled like pine Lysol and Windex.  She kicked off her shoes and yanked off her socks jut as the pressure had become too great to ignore.  She dropped her skirt to the floor, followed by panties, but aside from unbuttoning the shirt all the way and loosening the tie, left it on.  She wasn't wearing any bra.
-The female face in the mirror was already distorted, taking on a triangular shape, like watching Michael Jackson's transformation in "Thriller".  The pressure between her buttocks revealed a growing nub of a tail.
-''So, what's it going to be?  Gorilla?  No, they don't have tails.  Monkey?  Mole?  Cow?  What?'' she stared at her reflection, sad that the human girl she had only just become was about to vanish beneath a furry shell.
-Her fingertips sprouted claws that quickly tucked inwards, enveloped into a hand that developed pinkish pad-like surfaces over her palms and fingertips.  Tan-gold fur sprouted over them, irregular black sports emerging on the backs.  Distinctly feline paws.
-The lights flickered and went out, but the restroom was only dark momentarily before a harsher, battery-powered emergency light came on, illuminating Serena from behind.  She probed her mouth with her tongue and found growing canines, top and bottom.  Her entire jaw began to shift and push.  Serena's ears didn't so much rise as her forehead shrank to meet them as they came up.  Her already-black hair remained bound neatly into the ponytail the first change had given her.
-Serena's tail extended, longer and longer, as the light from behind silhouetted her slender waist and prominent hips.  Her breasts were even a touch larger now.  As if the idealized human figure she'd only just gained wasn't enough.
-There was commotion from outside, growing voices, and an oddly high-pitched one that only sounded vaguely human.  Someone knocked on the door.  "Uh... Serena?  Are you okay in there?" said Chuck.
-"Oh, I'm fine.  Just turning into a catgirl.  With spots," she said, as if it meant very little.
-"Cheetah?  Leopard?  Something like that?" he said.
-''I need a drink.  Really, really need a drink.''  "What happened to the power?"
-"Don't know yet.  But we have a very interesting visitor.  I think she's going to cause a stir, even more than you have.  Need a few more minutes to finish up?"
-The transformation squeezed almost the last of the humanity from Serena's face.  Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.  They glowed green back at her from the mirror.  Some kind of leopard, but none she was really familiar with.  Serena pulled her panties and skirt back on and made an attempt to button the shirt up, only getting partway before hooking one of her claws in the fabric and almost tearing the silk.  She decided it was enough to pull it over her breasts as much a she could and keep her tie between them.
-When she opened the door Serena found the entire Red Sox Room full of furries in various states of undress, near-panic, transformation and shocked amazement.  PJ Rooney's had somehow become a kind of furry triage.  Every local who had changed had flooded in just before the power outage.  Chuck looked completely overwhelmed, the coyote wrung his handpaws with concern, claws clicking on the hardwood floors as he went from victim to victim, trying to touch base with everyone like a good host.  He rushed over to his employee.  "Let me button up that shirt for you.  We've got kids in here.  And I mean ''goats.''  Go open the rest of the bar when I'm finished, will you?  I swear you're setting some kind of record for adjusting to this.  I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth."
-"She's not a horse!" Mike whinnied from across the room, where he sat between four other equines, including a male and female pair of zebras.  He towered over even those equines.  "And she looks great!"
-Chuck carefully buttoned up her shirt.  "You're kind of tight in the bust here.  I think you went up a cup size or two.  You were pretty modest before, honestly."
-"What the hell am I?" Serena muttered.  Half the room was clustered around someone near the kitchen.  Someone with blue skin and...  No wonder nobody was talking about her any more.  "Is she a dolphin?"
-"Having trouble talking, that one," Tracy said, slinking over.  She gave her sister feline an appraising look. "Clouded leopard.  Welcome to the feline side, sister.  We'll have to have a smug-off at some point, but right now I'm having a harder time with another transgender.  If you're already so well adjusted, I think she could use your support."
-Her charge sat at a two person booth under one of the Budweiser light fixtures and a half dozen autographed pictures of 2004 Red Sox players.  She was short, stocky, but curvy and quite well endowed.  Somehow her hair had been tied up in braids, each neatly tied at her neck.  She had a wide white stripe down the top of her muzzle, starting at her nose, white cheek ruffs, and small triangular ears.  She looked up at Serena.  "Leopard, right?  You have splotches all over you," she said glibly before going back to giving her breasts a careful squeeze with her beclawed fingers.  "And I ''think'' I'm a badger."
-The leopardess extended her hand.  "Sean Frost.  Though now I guess I'm Serena.  That's what it says on my license.  I'm a clouded leopard.  Don't ask me anything about them since I really haven't a clue."
-"I haven't looked at my driver's license yet," the badger replied.  "I don't even wanna know.  Frankly, the tits are a sideshow.  I feel like I'm in ''Kung Fu Panda'', don't you?"  She snorted and looked around the room.  She covered her nose with one hand and made a sour face.  "Smells like an effing ''zoo'' in here."
-"I didn't catch your name?" Serena said, extending her hand again.
-"Oh, right.  Bernard Voss.  Of course, now it's probably something like Bernadette or Bridget.  I've got a purse now.  An effing purse!  You should see what my apartment looks like now.  Scared the shit out of my roomie this morning!  He saw me as a chick right away.  Even my bedroom looks like a chick lives there.  It's like the Universe up and decided I'd look better with tits.  And a stubby tail.  And fur.  And look at this face!"  She let go of her breasts long enough to tap the sides of her muzzle.  "So much face!"
-She had obviously just tossed on whatever clothing was close at hand.  A tee shirt that was a size too small and a pair of khaki shorts.  Correction.  A khaki ''skirt.''
-"Um..."  Serena took a seat across from her at the booth.  She reminded herself that women normally sat with their legs together.  But she had no idea what to do with her tail.  She curled it around her waist and fumbled for something to say.  Everyone who wasn't clustered around the dolphin was off in their own little worlds.  The room had begun to go quiet.  Serena spoke softly.  "So, who did your hair?"
-"My roomie.  Last night.  ''Before'' the tits," Bernard replied ruefully.  "I had a Bob Marley thing going.  He said it looked femmy.  Now it really ''is'' girl hair.  Tracy said that this 'Random Omnipotent Being' made me a female me.  I have no idea what that means.  It's not something I ever thought about before.
-"Honestly, I don't feel like running around in a panic.  Guess I need to find out what kind of girl I am."  The badger picked up her purse from the seat beside and handed it over.  "So, tell me the bad news, Sean-Serena.  Bridgette or Bernadette?"
-Much like her own, the purse was well-worn and seemed lived in.  She fished out the wallet and flipped it open.  A black girl was on the photo.  "Neither.  You're Brooke."
-"Fine. I'm Brooke and your Serena.  God says so, and I ain't going to argue with Him."  Brooke leaned forward and whispered.  "Kung Fu Panda, I tell you." "You know, that was a really girly thing to ask, Miss Kitty."  She smirked.  Clearly that was more a gentle poke than an insult.
-"Are you okay?" Serena asked.
-"No.  I'm just talking to keep my mind off of you-know-what and floating on this buzz they told me about, hoping it doesn't wear off before I'm used to the tits and ass.  I'm just glad I'm not alone.  If I start talking your kitty ears off, let me know."
-Serena noticed Sadie and a couple of the waiters--they were also furries, but it had to be them in those uniforms--moving through the now-quiet crowded room.  Sadie was a skunk, and she had actually covered her huge tail in an all-over hairnet.  Rosa, the waitress, was a white mouse, and shorter than she appeared before.  Not counting her ears, maybe five feet tall.  Frank was an affable husky, gray-white with a curly tail.
-With everyone quiet, Chuck jumped up on one of the tables.  The coyote raised his hands for attention.  "Okay, everyone!  Since I'm the host here I think I need to say hello.  I've got some news about the power outage, too.  It's not looking too good outside the Cape, frankly.  This year's Change isn't running as smoothly as we hoped.
-"First, anyone who's had, ahem, ''gender issues'' this morning, we're opening up the Patriots Room after this.  Getting really crowded in here."
-"No kidding?" Mike said from his growing herd of hoofstock.  Horses, deer, and the rest had clustered around him.  "Smells like a zoo in here, bud."
-Chuck laughed with a low bark.  "I know, I know.  And there shouldn't be so many of us in one place.  Frankly, I didn't expect nearly this many.  We'll break up shortly so we don't put too much strain on the Veil.
-"Anyway, to sum up.  This year's Change isn't happening all at once.  Before the power went out I got word on the web that it's happening over several hours.  We didn't expect this.  And there's a lot of tourists here on the Cape..."
-"No kidding?" a goat-man said dryly.  His wife was a red squirrel, and their children were both goats.  "I want to know is who I've got to knock on their ass to change us back!  I'm not going to start eating tin cans!"
-Serena's new friend leaned forwards.  "And if I hear anyone start singing that stupid 'badger badger badger' song, I'm going to use these pretty new claws of mine," Brooke said, brandishing them.
-"The Federal Government knows about this and gave us a bunch of handouts.  There's Sleeping Sickness Hotlines you can call and get all the information.  And there's instructions on how to access confidential forums.  The short of it is that sometime this year President Hutchinson is going public with this.  They'll need your name and contact info to make preparations."
-"Dude, have you even looked at the TV the last three months?" Brooke said.  The media was on a "What if the World Went Furry?" binge.  The Discovery Channel had already shown several "What if humans had evolved from X animal" programs already.  "That ''wasn't'' CGI, was it?  And why didn't they show something so I'd know what'd happen if I got ti... if I became a woman?"
-Someone who wasn't as tactful spoke up.  "Shit, man.  It really sucks to be you," he said.
-Serena couldn't see him, but from where he stood Chuck did.  "That could be you next year, bub.  I'd start reading up on how to buy bras, if I were you," he said, only half kidding.  The coyote looked around the room.  "Are the Meads here somewhere?"
-"They wanted a room to themselves and the baby for a few minutes, so I sent them up to your office," Tracy said.  "I hope you don't mind, Chuck.  She has a baby to nurse."
-"No problem, Tracy.  We'll break for an hour anyway.  It's getting hot in here." Chuck said.  "Dinner's on the house, everyone.  I encourage you to share notes with the more experienced furs.  Serena, I need to talk with both of you.  Your lives are even more complicated than everyone else's now."
-"No shit!" Brooke replied, loudly, standing up and jiggling her breasts.  "To all the ladies in the room, how the hell do you live with these?  I could use some help here."  Clearly meant as a joke, the comment only got some nervous laughter in response, and a good number of uncomfortable looks.  "Tough room," the badger grumped before following Chuck and Serena into one of the currently unused rooms of the sports bar.
-"Look, Chuck, I really need to head back to my apartment for a few minutes.  Pull myself together.  Get a good look at this new anatomy.  That sort of thing," Serena said.
-"I'm still planning on opening tonight, if the power comes back on.  You'll need another uniform because that one's a little mussed up."  The coyote looked thoughtful.  "The way things are going lately ROB's been ''very'' thorough.  It wouldn't surprise me if you found your entire wardrobe feminized.  It happened to the clothes you were already wearing.  But if you don't have another skirt, or you don't want to wear one, I think I've got some slacks your size.  And Tracy said she has a spare pair of pawshoes."
-"I can answer that question.  You should see my closet.  It's ''all'' chick stuff now." Brooke said.  "Yeah, I wouldn't mind stretching my legs either.  I think I need to go mess with my roommate's head some more and try and squeeze these goddess-like jugs into a bra."
-"We're opening at seven tonight.  If you want to call in sick, you don't have to come in.  Otherwise, I hope you feel adjusted enough to come to work.  Everyone's going to see you as a woman now, Miss Frost.  Think hard about what that means.  We'll have that talk when you get back."
-{{Separator|k}}
-With the power still out Serena heard a number of gas-powered generators.  Rotating her ears around she was able to pinpoint where they were very well.  The air smelled strongly of sea salt and rotting fish.  Not a pleasant combination.  The streets were mostly empty, with only a few die-hard tourists out in this heat.  Brooke fluffed out her shirt and folded her muscular arms over her chest.  "Aw, hell.  I walked over here thinking they'd be able to cure me.  Do you think they can see us?  Just how good is that Veil thing anyway?"
-"I don't know, but I don't think people are going to be looking at my tail," Serena said, watching a couple of young men across the street.  They had paused to watch the two new women.  "Maybe ''after'' it comes down they will.  Guess they were right about humans not seeing us."
-"Oh, they see us," Brooke said, discomfited.  "I don't know what's worse.  That they can't see us as furries, or they actually see us as females.  This just gets weirder by the second."
-The duo started walking.  "What the hell am I going to tell my landlord?  Where do you live, anyway?"
-"We're already going the right direction.  It's a house, actually.  I'm just here for the summer.  Hell of a vacation, huh?" She chuckled weakly.  "So, have you peed yet?"
-Serena stopped in her tracks.  "That was rather blunt."
-"I'm serious, ''girl.''  I'm thinking hard about this practical crap.  It's not like I'm trying to wax poetic about suddenly having tits and how amazing being a woman is.  I've been one for what?  Two hours?  Less?  I'll probably wake up a week from now and scream," she stopped and clapped both hands to her breasts as if for the first time. "'Oh my God!  I'm a woman!' or some shit like that.  Of course, that's what it says on my driver's license.  Maybe I ''have'' always been a badgergirl and I was crazy before.  Butterfly dreaming he is a man or a man dreaming he's a sexy furry chick and all that.  Ha!"
-She went on and on like that through the entire walk to Serena's place.  Brooke liked to talk.  The leopardess wondered if she'd been a chatterbox as a man, or if there were some mental adjustments.  All the while the few people on the streets watched the two barefoot girls in bewilderment.
-They were only halfway there when the lights in the shops flickered back on.  Serena saw an opportunity to get a word in edgewise.  "Oh, good!  The air conditioning should be back on in my place now."
-"Good!  This fur is murder in this heat.  Are badgers supposed to sweat?  Or is that a holdover from our human forms?"  Brooke said.   Before she got off on yet another tangent, she saw where they were walking.  "Wow.  You live here?  It's like something out of ''Coraline."''
-The apartment building was a huge refurbished Victorian house.  Every apartment still had its own kitchen and bathrooms.  The landlord/owner had her own.  Unfortunately the elderly woman was outside, covering her plants with plastic sheeting.  The skies in the west were darkening quickly and the wind had picked up.  "If you've got anything on your balcony, Serena, you'd better bring it in.  We've got a severe t-storm watch," she said, not looking up.  Then she paused and made a show of looking confused.  "Oh dear.  What did I just say?  Oh dear.  Where ''did'' that name come from?"
-Mrs. Bailey was in her mid-seventies and very worried about going senile.  There was simply no way to hide it.  "That is my name now, Mrs. Bailey."
-The befuddled old woman looked up.  "Oh.  Are you Sean's sister?"
-"In a way..." Serena replied. When that woman found that all her rental records were under that name, the leopardess was afraid she'd have a heart attack.  "In a way, we're closer than that."
-Mrs. Bailey, wearing her wide-brimmed straw gardening hat, gloves, and holding a rubber mallet, stood up and gave Serena a sly look.  "You ''do'' look related. It's in your face.  Anyway, did Sean give you a key?"
-"I have one."
-"Oh, good.  He's been sick lately and I guess he called you to help out where he works?"
-"Actually Sean turned into a woman this morning and she's just trying to make the best of it," Brooke said glibly, gently patting her friend on the shoulder.  "Happened to me, too.  I don't think I've ever been so confused!  At least we turned out cute.  Cuddly, even."
-Serena snarled to herself.  ''Brooke, I'm gonna...''  But instead of getting mad, she decided to get even.  "We both went furry, too.  She's a badger and I'm a clouded leopard."
-Maybe she was going senile.  Or maybe she just had a strange sense of humor.  Perhaps the Veil was weak for her to begin with.  For a moment Serena was afraid the old woman would faint, or scream, or laugh, or shout for help.  ''Anything'' but what she said next.  "It's a small world, isn't it?  I'm not going senile, girls.  I can ''see'' what you are.  This Veil of yours never worked for me.  Plus, my granddaughter changed as you did this morning.  When I remembered you got sick too I was just waiting for the shoe to drop.  By the by, your rent's past due, Serena."
-It was always due in the middle of the month rather than the end.  "I still have to deposit my paycheck, Mrs. Bailey.  I'm just... you can see me?"
-In response, her landlord took her by the hand then pressed into the pad on the palm.  Serena's claws extended neatly.  "You're a woman now, yes.  But don't forget you're a cat also.  You're going to have to decide if one change is more important than the other.  You'll eventually have to deal with both, I think.  Take it in small bites.  You have the teeth, Miss Pretty Kitty.
-"The way I see it, as your elder it's my job to help smooth things for you youngsters.  Frankly I don't expect I'll live long enough to change myself.  Now, if you don't mind I could use some help with my flowerbeds.  I'd throw on something for yard work, if I were you.  Soil's bad for silk."
-Amazingly, the only obvious differences in Serena's apartment were her wardrobe and some of the pictures on the wall.  As she doffed her skirt for a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, Serena felt like she'd just been played.  Only when she was finished staking down the covers over the flowerbeds surrounding the Victorian apartment building did she head back upstairs.
-Hot, sweaty, and panting as they finished just ahead of the approaching storms, Serena fought an urge to lick her dirty handpaws clean the whole way.
-There was no way the girls were going anywhere until the thunder stopped.
-{{Separator|k}}
-"Breasts.  Boobs.  Jugs.  Funbags. Dumplings," Brooke said, looking at the ceiling while sitting in front of one of the two window air conditioners.  "Tits.  Mammaries..."
-Serena had just come out of the bathroom, having finally gotten a good look at herself in the fur.  She'd had enough of breasts for now.  "Brooke."
-"Melons.  Airbags."
-"Brooke..."  Serena folded her ears back in annoyance.
-"Thelma and Louise.  The Twins."
-''"Brooke!''  Stop!  Look, I know you're obsessed about your breasts and all, but there's more than that going on here," Serena huffed from across the room at the other bay window.  "Forget you're a woman for now, okay?"
-"That's like asking Ted Striker if he'll ever get over Macho Grande.  You're no fun, Serena," the badger replied petulantly, hands on her hips.  Outside the rain came down in torrents, running in rivulets down the window sills and pounding on the roof.  "Look, I've used all these words before.  I'm just getting a kick that they actually apply to me now."  Brooke sighed at her new friend's glare.  "Okay, fine.  But what else is there?"
-The clouded leopardess raised her hands, palms forward, and flexed her fingertips.  All ten claws emerged, hooked and obviously sharp.  "Right now I'm wondering if they could drag me off to jail for concealing deadly weapons."  She raised her lips in a mock-snarl.  "And what about these?  My entire body is a deadly weapon!"
-"And I'm a giant badger chick on two legs.  I've got claws, too," Brooke pointed out.  She pulled on the corners of her mouth, revealing carnassial teeth of her own.  "I'd rather think about the girly bits.  I have no idea how to live with being half animal.  How we're actually going to live in with a vast number of different species.  I don't care if we can still interbreed.  We'll still divide ourselves up, like in 'Planet of the Apes'.  It's scary, Serena.  As women we know where we stand in society, more or less.  I'd rather start with what we know.  I ''don't'' like the idea of inventing social norms as we go along."
-Serena considered that.  "Are you worried we'll screw things up?"
-"What makes you think we haven't already?  Look, have you looked at the way our numbers are growing?  It's exponential!  There just isn't enough time to do this without massive upheaval.  We'll be lucky if we don't start eating each other."  The badger frowned at the window air conditioner.  "When was the last time you put coolant in this thing?"
-"Huh?" Serena said, taken aback by the abrupt change of subject.  "It's like five years old.  I got it after I moved in here after college."
-"Well, replace it.  You're making the other unit do all the work.  I do HVAC repair and maintenance for a living.  I have no fucking idea how I'm going to explain this to my boss, but I'd rather tell him that I pulled a Kafka and woke up a woman one morning than the rest of... this."  She spread her hands apart.  "Tits before tail for me, girlfriend."
-"You know, you don't talk like a repairman.  Sorry, I mean woman."
-Brooke chuckled and scratched an itch on her lower jaw, then combed her fingers through her cornrows.  "I majored in social work and sociology, then I found out just how little money there was in the profession.  So I apprenticed and learned how to repair heating and air conditioning systems.  I'm making sixty dollars and hour and there's always work at this time of year, even in this shitty economy.  You?"
-"I like mixology.  I'm hoping this new nose helps, frankly.  There's nothing better than a perfect martini or Bloody Mary.  I'm going to start my own bar somewhere, once I can get a business loan."
-Raising an imaginary glass, Brooke toasted.  "You'll make a great businesswoman.  That is, when you're not hunting down small mammals to feed your cubs.  Vodka's going to be hard to come by."
-"You're so cynical," Serena said, shaking her head.  Outside the rain was letting up and the weakening cold front wrung out the remaining moisture.  There had been no hail, just a lot of rain and some gusty winds.  The power had even stayed on.  Of course, ''now'' the air was completely saturated and it was near 90 degrees outside.
-Serena went back to her closet.  It did look like a woman lived in this apartment now, but only barely.  There were a few small touches here and there, but whatever supernatural being had made the changes had only put out minimal effort.  She was going to have to buy her own bras.  Aside from the work uniform skirts, everything else had simply been resized to fit with a bit of lace or a few ruffles added.
-"You're going to have to buy tampons," Brooke said from behind the door.  "You're going to need them."
-Serena packed the bartending uniform in a hangar bag she used for weather like this and dug out something casual.  Shorts and a polo shirt that fit rather snugly around her breasts.  Buying bras, maybe a dress or two, was a given.  First thing tomorrow a trip to the pet store was in order.  She flexed her claws again, hands and feet.  "I'm going to need some really good clippers."
-Clean uniform in handpaw, and feeling like going to work was just the thing to keep her busy enough to take her mind off, Serena grabbed her car keys and drove herself and Brooke back to JP Rooney's.
-{{Separator|k}}
-By the time she arrived back at work most of the new furries had broken up, going back to their homes or motel rooms, with the tourists wondering if they should try and salvage any of their vacation.  The dolphin had a big problem.  She was from Florida and loudly insisted there was ''no way'' she was going to swim all the way south.  There were other furs there in staff uniforms.  A shocking number of them.  Serena only recognized them by their nametags.  The majority of the waitstaff and bartenders were female.  Serena felt like an unwilling turncoat.
-"Looking good, Serena," Tracy said.  She was the only other feline, and her friendly tone of voice was a surprise.  "That outfit looks better on you now."
-"It's the same old stuff I usually wear," Serena replied.  "Just shrunk to fit."
-"I know.  And you fill it out better.  But, no bra?"
-"I wasn't supplied with any.  Besides, I don't really need one here, do I?" the leopardess pointed out.  Since she'd been hired eighteen months ago Chuck had been moving the place in a Hooter direction without losing the formal sharpness.  Tight silk blouses and shorter skirts were showing up in the uniform wash now.  "Besides, I'm just one of the girls now, right?"
-"You're about to get some intense 'on the job training' in that, Serena darling," the cougaress said.  "Frankly I think you should go home and do those jumping jacks you talked about earlier."
-Serena and Tracy had never spoken much.  Not out of dislike per se, just huge indifference.  She hadn't been Sean's kind of girl anyway, and they'd never shared more than a few polite words in the months since Serena had started working there.  Her human ghost had worn glasses and had a supermodel's body.  The reason was obvious now, since Serena shared that "benefit" of the Change.
-"I'll be fine, really," Serena insisted.  "I'm more worried about accidentally scratching somebody than showing off my breasts."
-"Both of those are weapons, in their own right.  Let me clip your claws for you at least," Tracy said.  "They still leave scratches through the Veil.  Be ''damned'' careful, you hear me?  And I have a pair of paw-shoes you can borrow."  She fished some claw clippers out of her purse.
-More of the other employees were coming into the break room now, watching the two cats curiously.  The humans were obviously wondering who the new girl was, while the furries--a good two dozen of them, mostly women--nodded more politely with only a few smirks.
-"Chuck asked me to help you with the grooming," Tracy said. "Once I'm done with you, head to his office.  It won't take that long.  I don't intend to explain what or how I'm doing.  I just need to get you presentable for the bar.  You'll be my partner tonight in the Red Sox Room."  She tapped her partner on the chest, claws retracted.  "Remember that human girl you were earlier.  That's what people are going to see."
-After all that the cougaress said no more.  In the dressing room Serena found the skirt was more practical than the slacks, and cooler anyway.  Once she was finished Serena obediently went upstairs to Charles Polinsky's office.
-{{Separator|k}}
-If Serena had to choose a single word to describe Tracy, that word would be precise.  Before every shift she spent an hour inventorying every single bottle displayed behind the counter, making sure she hadn't been shorted.  She never needed a jigger/pony cup to measure out portions.  Patrons were never shorted, and always got precisely the cocktail they asked for.  Her human ghost had a porcelain, untouchable beauty that made her very popular, despite her cocktails' mere technical brilliance.
-Before the doors opened Tracy helped Serena straighten her blouse and dust off some imagined piece of lint.  "They're not going to be looking at your face, you know," she said.
-"You don't need to tell me what men are like," Serena replied.  "I'm just going to do my job.  So what if I'm a woman now?"
-"I'm not going to lecture you.  I'm sure you already got an earful from Chuck."
-The leopardess flicked her ears. "Boy, did I.  Brooke is still up there talking with him.  She's really curious about what it's like to come from the other direction."  The indecipherable look Brooke had given her as she had headed back downstairs bothered the new woman.  She'd only known the badger for a few hours, after all.  Not nearly enough time to know that much about her.
-She did seem oddly enthusiastic about life as a woman.  For Serena, at least for now, would deal with that later.  She was more worried about the rest of the sports bar's furry staff.  The majority of the thirty people working here were furries, or knew they were working for one.  Except for Sean and two others, who had been kept in the dark, since they normally didn't let anyone in on it unless they figured it out for themselves.
-Serena felt like a complete idiot for ''not'' noticing.  It explained so much.  ''Oh well.  If you dwell on hindsight too much you don't see what's about to smack you in the face,'' she thought as the Hostess opened the doors.
-The nervous mood of the crowd of regulars and tourists slammed into her.  Serena was totally unprepared for the sensory assault.  Being able to read the crowd was very important.  There were a surprising number of locals who frequented JP Rooney's.  And they made up a larger percentage than usual during this tourist season.  Today, Serena swore she could ''smell'' their worry.  It flowed off of them in waves.
-"Remember, you're the new girl.  So try to act like one," Tracy muttered.   The cougaress smiled ferally.  "Remember, you're a huntress, not prey."  Somehow that wasn't a very reassuring statement.  But it was the most friendly tone of voice Serena had ever heard from Tracy.  "We're quite a pair, at least our human ghosts are..."
-She couldn't say any more or the patrons would overhear.  The first to make it to the barstools were obviously a pair of tourists.  They both ordered Guinness, then demanded to view the Cubs game.
-For the next two hours until she took her break, Serena barely had time to think, let alone respond to anyone ogling her chest.  And they obviously were.  During one of the few moments of quiet, Tracy whispered, "If you want to go home, be my guest.  But you're doing better than I thought you would, for a newbie who got a double-whammy.  I think half a dozen guys made a pass at you.  You handled them well."
-"I wouldn't say that. I just plain ignored them.  I was paying more attention to the mood in here."  Serena rested her hands on the bar and raised her ears, turning them to listen to snatches of conversation.  And the ''smell.''  Even the numerous furry employees and miasma alcoholic fumes couldn't obliterate the nervous human odors.  Nobody was saying anything, though.  There seemed to be less disruption than the previous year's Change, but only because of more secure energy supplies and the already depressed economy.
-Serena swished her tail in agitation.  The crowd was tense.  As if they have already figured out what was happening to the world, but nobody wanted to say anything, for fear of being right.  Several of the TVs were on commercial, with the now ubiquitous furry imagery.  The clouded leopardess's tail was long enough to curl it up and over her shoulder. She absently started playing with the tip.  It needed a brushing.
-Tracy gave her a nudge.  "I know it's fascinating and feels strange right now, but it looks funny to humans."
-"Would you prefer I play with my breasts?"
-To Serena's surprise, Tracy actually laughed.  But with that, the lull was over and they were back to making cocktails.
-{{Separator|k}}
-''August 28, 2009''
-There were mice in the kitchen.  Serena could smell their droppings, but they had eluded her for a week now.  Her body's natural pose for a pounce wasn't too comfortable.  Her breasts got squashed and sore after a while, so she tried a crouch, tail lashing behind her, lights off, curtains drawn.  Around the apartment she rarely wore more than a thin camisole and a pair of boy-short panties.  Even with both air conditioners running it was too hot for a furry.  She normally slept in the nude, with no covers, spread-eagled.  Air conditioner number three was on order.  Brooke had promised one at a huge discount, once the trucks started rolling again.
-"Come on you little..." Serena growled.  Then she started to feel like a cartoon cat waiting for the mouse.  But what would she do when she caught it?  She was big enough to swallow it whole, bones and all.  But that thought repelled her.  Maybe she could learn to make mouse stew?  Like that guy in that movie ''Never Cry Wolf'' Brooke kept talking about. Serena got to her feet again.  ''Ick... just... ick!  I'm going to the grocery store.''
-The World Health Organization and the CDC had declared a Pandemic Alert, like the swine flu earlier in the year, though that one had quickly fizzled.  Somehow her gender change had kept her out of the hospital, because God or whatever had basically altered all her records back to the birth certificate that now read Serena Kayla Frost, October 8, 1982.  Whether she would have to wear a medalert bracelet was still up in the air.  She preferred to go without that kind of stigma.  That everyone saw her as Serena, family and friends included, was enough stress.
-Even the photos on her hard drive showed that human female now.  As for her parents and other family, they still remembered Sean.  And they weren't taking the Change well.
-"Give it time," Chuck had said.  "It's a greater shock to them than yourself.  My mother still doesn't accept the 'loss' of her daughter."
-Serena had awoken at an early hour for her.  Nine in the morning, since she needed to run several errands she'd delayed since that single trip to Target with Brooke and Tracy to fill out her barely feminine wardrobe.  Tracy had been very helpful, explaining how bras fit and which were most comfortable with furry breasts.  The two felines spent a lot of time together both during and after work.  Last weekend Tracy had driven them up into Boston to window shop on Newbury Street.  There was little else they could do, unfortunately.  The world had shut down for almost ten days and was only now returning to some semblance of normal.
-Tracy was leading her gently into womanhood, only moving as fast as Serena was comfortable with.  It was the ''strangest'' friendship Serena could think of.  Mutual indifference had been blasted out of the water.  They were the only two felines on JP Rooney's staff, for one thing.  Then Serena had asked Tracy point blank if it was because she was a woman now, also.
-With her characteristic precision, she had answered yes, that was a big factor.  "No offense, but we had nothing in common before.  I mean, ''nothing,"'' she had said a week before.  The bar had been closed (to humans, at least) during the national shutdown.
-"I get a pair of ovaries and suddenly I'm personable?" Serena had replied without malice.
-"Look, Serena, I've never gotten along well with men.  You already act more feminine than you realize," was her apologetic reply.  "It seems to come naturally to transgendered furs, so it's probably the hormones.  Once that happened, something clicked in me.  You're a fascinating woman to be around.  I honestly enjoy showing you and Brooke the ins and outs."
-It was better to let bygones be bygones, they had decided.  Between the cougaress and Brooke, Serena had plenty of new friends to get through these tough times.
-As for the old friends?  A problem to solve later.  Maybe they'd all change sex, too.  Serena admitted she'd get a real kick out of that.
-Besides, being an anthropomorphized clouded leopardess was proving to be a much bigger problem.
-{{Separator|k}}
-Problem number one, grooming.  While she didn't have the stereotypical feline aversion to water, humid New England summers were not conducive to drying off after a shower.  While shaving her legs was certainly not an issue, most furries had retained some percentage of their sweat glands.  This kept them cool, but made their fur matted and smelly if they stayed outside for any amount of time.  There were solutions to that, though.  Serena was about to get her fur thinned out.
-Serena put on a cool red tanktop with a built-in bra, and a short denim skirt borrowed from Tracy.  She hated it, and it was strictly for comfort.  Skirts were cooler and didn't need modification for her tail.  She shouldered her purse when her cell phone buzzed inside.  Fishing it out from next to the lint brush, she flipped it open.  It wasn't anyone on her calling list, but she answered with her full name.  "Hello?  This is Serena Frost."
-"Miss Frost.  Hello there," came the friendly male reply. "I'm Richard Sobel with the ''Boston Globe.''  I've learned that on the first day of the Sleeping Sickness outbreak a group of previous victims of the disease gathered at your workplace.  There were also several people there who contracted that illness on that very day.  Could you comment on that?"
-''Shit,'' she thought.  Somebody must have spilled the beans somewhere.  "Have you tried contacting my employer, Mr. Sobel?  You should really speak with him."
-"Did ''you'' contract Sleeping Sickness, Ms. Frost?  If so, what variant?  I understand there are several dozen types with various animal side effects.  Some are blaming this disease for the swine flu outbreak earlier this year, as there is a porcine variant."
-"I really don't have time right now, Mr. Sobel.  I have errands to run and a twelve hour shift ahead of me," Serena said, trying to be firm.
-His tone of voice changed immediately.  "I understand, Miss Frost.  I'll contact you another time."  He hung up.
-"Okay.  That was way too easy."  The last thing she needed was some Intrepid Reporter poking his nose into her life.  There had been rumors flying around for years.  Impossible for the government to contain.  Twitter had been down for almost a week because of "server overload" but was back up again.  She took a moment to smooth out her skirt.
-There was another good reason for the skirt, and for that she was thankful.  The now-yearly decay of the Veil was continuing apace, and many furries had some very difficult-to-explain clothing modifications ''in addition'' to the weird shoes they had to wear.  She knew that there were large numbers of furs in the media, but it was a sword of Damocles over everyone's head.  The government planned to go public with this in a little less than a year, but...
-There was no place on Cape Cod discreet enough for the grooming she needed.  She grabbed her purse and headed out to the Honda CR-X Mike had given her.  Unlike her Civic SI hatchback, this one had seats modified for furs, with a tail hole in the back.  Mike actually had a strong business in modifying vehicles in that regard, in addition to giving old cars "reFURbishment" as he'd called it.  It ran well, and since gasoline had temporarily jumped back up to six dollars a gallon during the shutdown, seventy miles per gallon came in very handy.
-After a thirty minute drive she arrived in Plymouth, her windshield-mounted GPS giving its stilted directions to the groomer's.  It was somebody's house, and impossible to miss.  There were cars parked up and down the street, and at least a dozen furries standing on the front porch.  ''I'm glad I made an appointment,'' Serena thought.
-The majority of furs ended up some species native to the continent.  Serena's Chinese ancestry had certainly been a factor with her.  Those waiting included several deer, a tabby housecat, a bear, two rats, and another badger.  This time male, so it couldn't be Brooke.  Serena parked, then drummed her fingers on the steering wheel.  Chuck had told her point blank that "licking yourself doesn't constitute a bath" and said that unless she wanted her hours cut, she needed to come here.
-Serena nodded hello to the others waiting out front, and headed inside for her appointment.
-{{Separator|k|WIP}}
-"I am never, ''ever'' going back there," Serena complained to Tracy during their dinner break.  Upon entering she'd discovered why everyone waited outside in the muggy heat.  The indoors had smelled like the inside of her grandmother's bathroom.  The women running the grooming service were a trio of Veil-free humans in their mid-50s.  They were friendly at first, complimenting her on her spots.  "Then I introduced myself using my initials, like the other transgendered do."  Serena paused and folded her ears back and took a bite out of her hot dog.  "I'm ''never'' doing that again.  I've never been so patronized!"
-"I've done all my own grooming," Tracy replied.  She wrinkled her nose at the cloying strawberry odor that surrounded her friend.  "What happened next?"
-Serena described the assembly line nature of the grooming in the basement.  Clothes off, then a ten minute soak-and-scrub in a modified hot tub in the back yard.  Next, the excess water was toweled off.  Then came the MacGuyvered dryer setup.  A half dozen pet dryers on a shelf did the job in fifteen minutes, but left her all frizzed out.  She'd needed help to brush herself down enough to fit back into her clothes.  "That strawberry flea shampoo was horrible.  It's going to take weeks to get rid of it," Serena grumbled.  "But here's the worst humiliation.  The absolute worst."
-The leopardess stood up, then leaned forward with her hands on her knees.  "They gave me a look like I was a six year old girl and said, and I quote, 'You're a pretty kitty! Yes you are!'"  Serena snarled.  "And it cost me seventy five bucks!"
-Tracy groaned.  "What a waste.  If I'd known you were going I would've invited you over to my place.  That shampoo is pretty ripe.  I'm sorry they were so patronizing."
-Serena picked up a breadstick and broke it in half before devouring it and patting Tracy on the shoulder.  "Don't apologize. It's not your fault, Tracy.  But from here on out I'm just Serena Frost.  I don't want anyone--or anyfur--to know I was a man before August 17th.  I'd rather make a ''faux pas'' then endure that kind of prejudice again.  And I'm not even going to ''try'' and act feminine.  I'll just do what comes naturally."
-The other feline nodded.  "I'll keep that in mind, Serena.  We'd better get back down and reopen the bar.  It's heavy down there tonight."